adminLeonard Ncube Victoria Falls Reporter
THE Victoria Falls man who recently went haywire and beat up his model wife after her boyfriend barged into their bedroom while they were sleeping last week, has appeared in court charged with physical abuse.
Calvin Murapati, 22, of 417 Chinotimba Township, has been married to the 2012 winner of Miss Matabeleland North, Nomagugu Ncube, 21, for two years. They have a one-year-old child.
Murapati, who was recently in court for possession of cyanide, told of a ‘sad’ story when he returned from Bulawayo to find that his wife was cheating on him with another man – Munyaradzi Nananga.
Murapati, who appeared before Victoria Falls magistrate, Sharon Rosemani, pleaded guilty to a crime of physically abusing his wayward wife, a waitress at Lola’s Restaurant in the resort town.
He said he lost it and started assaulting his wife at his in-laws’ place of residence when Nananga had knocked at the door and bolted out after seeing that there was a naked man in the bed.
“I returned from Bulawayo at midnight and as we were sleeping, somebody knocked on the door.
“My wife went to check and she immediately closed the door thinking that I hadn’t seen that it was a man that had peeped in.
“I asked her who it was and she lied that it was her female friend.
‘‘That is when I beat her once. She only confessed that it was her boyfriend after I hit her for the third time,” Murapati told the court as he admitted to a crime of physical abuse.
Prosecuting, Takunda Ndovorwi told how Murapati and the model fought while at the model’s parents’ house on November 23.
“The accused was sleeping with the complainant when somebody knocked. The complainant checked and when the accused asked her who it was, she lied.
“That’s when the accused started assaulting her with fists and also hit her with an empty bottle,” said the prosecutor.
Murapati pleaded for leniency saying he acted out of anger.
The magistrate said there were more mitigatory factors than aggravatory ones as he had been provoked by seeing a man barge into his bedroom while he was naked.
“In coming up with your sentence, I considered that you’re a young first-time offender and that to some extent, you were provoked. It’s natural for anyone to act that way if provoked by the act of another man coming into your house.
“In aggravation, crimes of physical abuse are on the increase and the court should be seen discouraging this so that people do not take matters into their own hands,” said Rosemani before fining Murapati $100.
Online Reporter