Online Reporter
Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, [email protected]
A MAN from Filabusi in Insiza District has appeared in court for allegedly turning violent on a family that had offered him refuge during a village altercation, fatally striking the man of the house with an iron bar.
Thembani Nkomo (32), of Vukuzenzele Village, was not asked to plead when he appeared briefly before Gwanda provincial magistrate Ms Sukoluhle Nunu, facing a charge of murder. He was remanded in custody to January 14.
Prosecuting, Mr Ngonidzashe Shumba said the incident occurred in the early hours of Christmas Eve during a drinking spree at a local tuck-shop.
He told the court that at around 3AM, Nkomo was drinking beer with two acquaintances, Eric Nyoni and another man identified only as Mpunzi, at a tuck-shop about a kilometre from the now deceased’s homestead.
A misunderstanding arose between Nkomo and Mpunzi over an undisclosed issue, resulting in Mpunzi assaulting Nkomo with fists.
To defuse the situation and ensure his safety, Nyoni escorted the accused to the homestead of the now deceased, Lewis Mandlane.
Nyoni informed Mandlane’s wife that he was leaving Nkomo at the homestead for safety, to which she agreed.
Mr Shumba said the accused person, who was visibly angry, was left sitting under a tree in the yard.
After a short while, Nkomo allegedly proceeded to the Mandlanes’ bedroom, forcibly entering while shouting that he wanted to kill someone.
The accused found Mandlane’s wife sleeping in the bedroom and grabbed her,” said Mr Shumba.
She resisted and screamed for help, prompting the couple’s daughter, Ethel, who was sleeping in another room, to rush to her mother’s aid.
Ethel found the accused holding her mother by the throat and pushed him away, enabling them to flee into her bedroom.
The accused allegedly followed them and forced open the bedroom door using an iron bar, prompting further screams that awakened the now deceased, who was sleeping in another room.
Mr Shumba said Mandlane went to investigate and was intercepted by the accused, who struck him several times on the head with the iron bar and he collapsed.
The deceased’s wife and daughter escaped through a window and alerted neighbours.
They later returned with neighbours and found Mandlane lying unconscious at the doorstep, while the accused person, who was heavily intoxicated, was asleep in the deceased’s bedroom.
The accused was apprehended by villagers and handed over to the police, leading to his arrest.
