Fortune Makoni, [email protected]
AN inmate serving a jail term for assault has been sentenced to an additional year in prison for assaulting a fellow prisoner at Inyathi Prison following a dispute over cleaning duties.
Godknows Ndlovu (24) was convicted on his own plea of guilty to assault by Inyathi magistrate Ms Meggie Ruzive.
The court heard that Ndlovu grabbed fellow inmate Thulani Ndlovu (26) and banged his head against a wall, leaving him with a deep cut following a misunderstanding over cleaning duties in their cell.
In passing sentence, Ms Ruzive said the offence was concerning given that it had occurred in a correctional facility where inmates are expected to undergo rehabilitation.
“The irony is particularly concerning because of the setting, which happens to be a correctional facility where inmates are expected to undergo rehabilitation,” she said.
The magistrate noted that Godknows was a repeat offender with previous assault convictions.
The court heard that he had been sentenced to an effective four months’ imprisonment in an earlier case in June, while a further four months that had previously been suspended was subsequently brought into effect.
Although the court considered his young age and guilty plea as mitigating factors, Ms Ruzive said a custodial sentence was necessary because of his previous convictions and the need to deter further violence.
The additional 12-month sentence will run consecutively to the term he is currently serving.
Prosecuting, Mr Farirai Chakanga told the court that the incident occurred on October 12 at around 8 PM when the two inmates had a misunderstanding over cleaning duties in their cell at Inyathi Prison.
The dispute degenerated into a fight, during which Godknows assaulted Thulani by banging his head against a wall, resulting in him sustaining a deep cut.
In a victim impact statement, Thulani told the court that the assault had affected him to the extent that he was unable to chew.
