Lupane man axes stepmother, sets her on fire

A 22-YEAR-OLD man from Lupane has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for striking his 72-year-old stepmother with an axe and setting her on fire, resulting in her succumbing to the injuries a month later.
Sibongiseni Mpofu was convicted of murder by Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Evangelista Kabasa sitting on circuit in Hwange.

In her judgment, Justice Kabasa ruled that the State had proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Mpofu unlawfully caused the death of his stepmother, Christine Ncube.

“The court found that the accused acted with intent, or at least appreciated the real risk that his actions could result in death, when he attacked the elderly woman and set her ablaze,” said the judge.

Prosecuting, Ms Martha Cheda told the court that on May 17 last year, at around 10 AM, Mpofu attacked the deceased at her homestead in Mathama Village under Chief Mabhikwa in Lupane District.

The court heard that Mpofu first asked the deceased for cooking oil before suddenly striking her once on the head with an axe. He then poured paraffin over her body and set her on fire.

Despite suffering severe burns and a deep head wound, Ncube survived the initial attack and was later found lying inside her kitchen hut.

Shortly after the assault, Mpofu reportedly phoned his younger brother, Siyabonga Mpofu, and confessed to the attack.

Siyabonga rushed to the homestead with his uncle, Mr Livion Masina, where they found the accused in nearby fields holding his cellphone, while the victim lay on the ground bleeding profusely.

“She had burns all over her body and was bleeding from the head,” Ms Cheda told the court.
Relatives, including her husband, Mr Mloyiswa Mpofu, transported Ncube to the hospital using a donkey-drawn cart.

Before being taken for treatment, the deceased managed to identify Mpofu as her attacker, telling family members that he had assaulted her and set her on fire. She succumbed to her injuries on June 15, nearly a month after the attack.

Medical evidence presented in court by the doctor who conducted the post-mortem confirmed that the injuries sustained in the attack caused her death.

Police investigations led by Sergeant Parato established the crime scene, where blood stains were observed inside the victim’s hut.

Mpofu was arrested the following day after the matter, initially treated as attempted murder, was upgraded to murder following Ncube’s death