adminMashudu Netsianda, Senior Court Reporter
A MINE worker has been sentenced to 10 years in jail for fatally striking a colleague with an iron bar during a fight.
Fortune Ncube, 46, of Kensington just outside Bulawayo, flew into a rage and attacked Sindisani Sibanda, 24, on Christmas Eve last year after the latter made derogatory gay sexual utterances towards him.
High Court judge Justice Nicholas Mathonsi convicted Ncube of a lesser charge of culpable homicide after taking into account that he had been extremely provoked.
He suspended two years of the sentence for five years on condition that he does not within that period commit a similar crime.
Justice Mathonsi heard how Ncube struck Sibanda with an iron bar eight times in the head and on the back, resulting in his death, whenhe “insulted him by saying that he wanted to have sex with him.”
In passing sentence, Justice Mathonsi said although Ncube was a victim of drunken abuse at the hands of Sibanda who verbally abused him, his conduct was deplorable.
“You were a victim of drunken abuse at the hands of an unruly and undisciplined young man half your age who apparently targeted you for verbal and physical attack in a completely senseless manner,” said the judge.
Justice Mathonsi said although Sibanda’s conduct reduces Ncube’s moral blameworthiness, the court had a duty to uphold the sanctity of human life by passing harsh sentences on offenders.
“In aggravation, we cannot ignore the fact that a life was lost in a very violent manner. When the tables turned against him, the aggressive Sibanda was ruthlessly clobbered with a grotesque weapon which would have killed even an animal. The blows were directed at the most vulnerable parts of the body and therefore the courts cannot allow a situation where people consume alcohol to excess and senselessly kill each other in the name of drunkenness,” said the judge.
Justice Mathonsi urged people to exercise restraint when provoked.
“Our people must be reminded that crime doesn’t pay. We can’t have a society of primitive individuals who readily resort to extreme bouts of violence at the slightest provocation. People should control their emotions even under extreme provocation,” ruled the judge.
A post mortem report gave the cause of death as ruptured liver, haemorrhagic shock and blunt force trauma on the abdomen as a result of assault.
Prosecuting, Sifiso Ndlovu-Sibanda said on December 24, 2015 shortly after 8PM, Ncube and Sibanda were at Joplum Mine in Kensington drinking beer when a misunderstanding ensued.
Ncube alleged that Sibanda was disrespectful when he told him that he wanted to have sex with him.
The court heard that a fight ensued and Sibanda tried to attack Ncube using a shovel but he was restrained by a colleague.
“During the fight, Ncube picked an iron bar and hit Sibanda three times on the head and he fell down,” said Ndlovu-Sibanda.
As Sibanda lay unconscious on the ground, Ncube further struck his colleague five times on the back using the same weapon and he died instantly.
Soon after committing the gruesome murder, Ncube took to his heels.
Ncube, through his lawyer, Sikhumbuzo Nyathi, pleaded for leniency, saying he was provoked and acted on the spur of the moment.
derick.khumalo