Gwanda court hears case of man who allegedly shot villager during bull slaughter

Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu [email protected]

A GWANDA man who allegedly shot dead a fellow villager after he allegedly missed a beast that he was trying to slaughter, has appeared in court facing a charge of murder.

Dumisani Nyathi (61) was not asked to plead when he appeared briefly before Gwanda magistrate, Ms Sukoluhle Nunu. He was remanded out of custody to May 11 after being granted a US$100 bail fee.

The State did not oppose bail.

Nyathi was represented by Mr Bukhosi Ncube of Bukhosi Ncube Attorneys. In his bail application Mr Ncube said while a life has been lost it was not the intention of his client to harm the now deceased.

“It wasn’t my client’s intention to harm the now deceased and there was no negligence on his part. It wasn’t foreseeable that the bull would break the chain and charge towards the people and that my client would collide with the now deceased.

“The accused person had already loaded the gun and at the time collision he couldn’t control or stop the gun from discharging,” he said.
Prosecuting, Ms Rose Phiri said the accused person fatally shot the now deceased Butholezwe Sibanda on Saturday while at Lushongwe Business Centre.

“On 21 February 2026 the accused was with the deceased Butholezwe Sibanda and other villagers at Lushongwe slaughter point. They tied a bull in order to kill it by shooting. The accused was holding a loaded rifle.

“The bull broke the chains and charged towards the accused and villagers who were at the slaughter. The crew ran away and the accused collided with the now deceased and shot him on the chest,” she said.