Bulawayo man fined US$150 after brick attack on neighbour

A 41-YEAR-OLD Bulawayo man who struck his neighbour with a brick during a misunderstanding has been fined US$150. Bukhosi Dube of Nkulumane suburb was convicted of assault by Western Commonage regional magistrate Mr Pasipanodya Maturure. Initially, he was charged with culpable homicide.

The magistrate found that the State had failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the victim’s death was directly linked to the brick attack.

Mr Maturure said evidence contained in the post-mortem report showed that the deceased’s head injuries could not conclusively be attributed to the use of the brick.

“The State failed to prove culpable homicide beyond doubt due to material contradictions and lack of corroboration,” said Mr Maturure. Dube, who was represented by Mr Simbarashe Madzivire, was consequently convicted of the lesser charge of assault.

Prosecuting, Ms Christina Manyika told the court that the incident occurred on April 17 last year at around midday.
The deceased, Mark Phiri, was standing outside a building under construction between Mpekwa Butchery and Nkulumane Bottle Store while talking to Nomatter Tshili when Dube approached them.

The court heard that Dube accused Phiri of misusing money that Tshili had allegedly given him to buy two crates of Black Label beer. A misunderstanding subsequently erupted between the two men.

“The accused picked a half red industrial brick from the front of the building under construction and struck the now deceased once on the left side of his head,” said Ms Manyika. Phiri fell headlong onto the tarred pavement and lost consciousness.

The court heard that Dube entered the building under construction, fetched a bucket of water and poured it on Phiri in an attempt to revive him, but without success.

An ambulance was called and Phiri was rushed to Mpilo Central Hospital, where he was admitted. He died shortly after midnight the following day. The matter was reported to the police, leading to Dube’s arrest.