Online Reporter
Dalyn Chigwizura, [email protected]
A Bulawayo man who launched a violent attack on his drunken friend, striking him repeatedly with a knobkerrie and an empty beer bottle, has been sentenced to five years in prison.
Previous Nyathi (30) of Emakhandeni suburb was convicted on his own plea of guilty to attempted murder when he appeared before Western Commonage regional magistrate, Mr Pasipanodya Maturure.
The court suspended two years of the sentence on condition that Nyathi does not commit a similar offence within five years, leaving him to serve an effective three-year prison term.
In passing sentence, the magistrate underscored the gravity of the offence, highlighting how alcohol abuse frequently fuels violent conduct.
He also considered Nyathi’s guilty plea and expression of remorse.
In mitigation, Nyathi told the court that he was remorseful and pleaded for leniency, stating that he had been intoxicated at the time of the incident.
The prosecutor, Ms Melissa Dube, told the court that the attack took place on December 3 last year at around 11AM while Nyathi and the complainant, Noble Sebastian Maseko, were drinking beer together at a shebeen in Emakhandeni.
The court heard that Maseko became heavily intoxicated and struggled to walk, which angered Nyathi, who wanted to leave the premises with him.
“Nyathi became irritated by the complainant’s drunken behaviour and took a knobkerrie, striking him once on the back, once on the stomach and twice on the face,” said Ms Dube.
She added that Nyathi continued the assault, hitting Maseko twice on the face with an empty beer bottle, causing severe injuries.
Maseko was taken to hospital for treatment and later reported the matter to the police, leading to Nyathi’s arrest.
