Headmaster’s murder trial opens

Liberty Dube and Tendai Gukutikwa—
THE trial of a Mutasa teacher who went berserk and axed her hubby to death in June last year, commenced this week with the couple’s sons testifying in court. The late Manners Bhowa (49), who was a deputy headmaster at Nyakatsapa High School, was found dead on the couple’s matrimonial bed at the United Methodist Church-run institution.

He bled profusely and died instantly. Pamela Phiri denied murdering her husband when she appeared before High Court judge Justice Charles Hungwe on Tuesday. Ms Jane-Rose Matsikidze prosecuted.

Representing Pamela was Mutare lawyer, Ms Memory Mandingwa. Ms Mandingwa said the late Bhowa was abusive that at one time, he assaulted a heavily pregnant Phiri-Bhowa leading to her giving birth prematurely.

“She was later hospitalised for a week at Baines Hospital, resulting in a premature birth and the baby’s subsequent death,” said Ms Mandingwa. She told the court that her client at one time suffered from mental illness in 1991 before she met her husband.

However, the couple’s first son, Lloyd Tariro Bhowa (23) said that his parents were involved in incessant marital disputes, blaming Pamela for always starting the disputes.

He claimed that the couple would fight over trivial issues.

“My mother was always the instigator of violence in their marriage. She always caused trouble. She never wanted us to have a normal relationship with him. She, at one time, barred us from going to our father’s rural areas claiming that our relatives were possessed with evil spirits which would harm us if ever we attempt to visit there,” he said.

Following his death, Pamela covered her husband’s body with a blanket and left for her workplace in Penhalonga. She allegedly told her children that their father had gone out. In the evening they prepared supper for him and left it in the kitchen.

The children thought that their father had gone to work before a workmate told them that he was absent. They opened the bedroom door and saw his body lying on the matrimonial bed and reported the matter to the police.