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BULAWAYO High Court Judge, Justice Christopher Dube-Banda has sentenced a 40-year-old Shurugwi man to three years in prison for fatally assaulting his 13 –year- old son accusing him of being a gossiper.
Justice Dube – Banda who is sitting at the Gweru High Court circuit today heard that Chengerai Mandiziva of Edward Farm in Shurugwi was incensed after he walked on his son- the now deceased Takunda chatting with his stepmother Berita Mapiye about his infidelity.
Mandiziva pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to a lesser charge of culpable homicide.
Justice Dube-Banda found him guilty and sentenced him to three years in prison.
Mandiziva will serve two years in prison after the Judge suspended a year of his sentence for five years on the condition of good behaviour.
In his defence, Mandiziva denied having the intention to kill his son saying it was an accident.
“I didn’t mean to kill my son because I thought I was only disciplining him for gossiping about me with my wife. I however acknowledge that through my conduct, I was negligent in causing the death of my son,” he said.
Prosecutor Ms Linah Mamombe conceded to the fact that Mandiziva was negligent in the manner he assaulted his son and accepted his plea of culpable homicide.
Ms Mamombe told the court that on November 8, 2020 Mandiziva arrived home and overhead his son chatting with his stepmother Mapiye.
The court heard that the two were chatting about Mandiziva’s infidelity.
“The accused then indicated that he intended to discipline the deceased to stop him from gossiping. He ordered the deceased to get into the house and proceeded to detach a switch from a nearby tree. The accused then followed the deceased into the house, ordered him to lie down on his stomach and started assaulting him on the back and on his buttocks with the switch,” said Ms Mamombe.
She said Takunda was then ordered to go outside where he went and lay on his back in the yard.
Takunda, Ms Mamombe said then asked his father to pour water on his body and he complied.
“The deceased requested for more water and the accused’s wife gave him the water to drink. At around 6:30 PM the accused person’s wife examined Takunda and observed that he was now unconscious,” she said.
The court heard that the matter was reported to the police leading to the arrest of Mandiziva.
Takunda’s remains, Ms Mamombe said were ferried to United Bulawayo Hospitals where a post-mortem examination concluded that the cause of death was due to traumatic shock, thoracic and abdominal trauma.
Online Reporter