adminAuxilia Katongomara, Chronicle Reporter
A WOMAN who axed her two minor children and kept their bodies until the following morning has been freed after the High Court ruled that she was mentally unstable when she committed the brutal killings.
Grace Ndou, 24, of Beitbridge, will however be restricted to a special institution to receive medical treatment after Justice Nokuthula Moyo passed a not guilty verdict.
Justice Moyo sitting with assessors Stanley Hadebe and Elliot Nyoni returned a special verdict of not guilty because of insanity in terms of the Mental Health Act. Medical reports compiled by two doctors showed that the woman was suffering mental health problems when she killed her children aged two and five years.
“Accused has been found not guilty on both counts of murder by reason of insanity. A special verdict would be made in terms of Section 29 of the Mental Health Act. However, she is considered a danger to society as such she is committed to Mlondolozi Special Institution,” ruled Justice Moyo.
The court ordered that she should continue to receive treatment for her condition.
Ndou’s trial heard that on October 2, 2014, she retired to bed with her two children at 9PM.
“During the night, Ndou axed the two children to death. At around 6AM, she went to her brother who was sleeping in another hut and informed him about what she had done,” said Hove.
Her pro-deo lawyer Esther Sarimana of Coghlan and Welsh legal practitioners submitted that her client was mentally unstable at the time the crime was committed.
“All she remembers is hearing voices ordering her to kill her two children,” said Sarimana.
A psychiatric assessment concluded that Ndou was suffering from acute psychotic disorder and was thus mentally disturbed to an extent that she could not be held legally responsible for her actions.
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