Online Reporter
Tsenulo Moyo
A 23-YEAR-OLD man from Magwegwe suburb in Bulawayo was sentenced to six years in jail for stabbing his 30-year-old brother with a knife following a domestic dispute.
Revival Ncube appeared before Bulawayo regional magistrate Dambudzo Malunga facing a charge of attempted murder.
He pleaded not guilty but was convicted after a full trial and sentenced to eight years imprisonment, with two years suspended on condition that he does not commit a similar offense within a period of five years. He will serve an effective six years.
While passing the sentence, magistrate Malunga stated that the victim was the only person who gave evidence in court, and Revival chose to remain silent,
exercising his right to do so.
“The court was satisfied with the complainant's evidence. It noted that he was an honest and credible witness, and his evidence was clear on the events that transpired on the day in question,” magistrate Malunga said.
Magistrate Malunga stated that Revival's decision to remain silent meant that he did not oppose the State's evidence and essentially agreed with it.
“The court had to consider that he remained silent as he thought he would implicate himself. Even when his defence had some weaknesses, he still chose to remain silent," said magistrate Malunga.
“He used a knife to mercilessly attack the victim for no apparent reason. He ruthlessly attacked his own kin. The offender was not remorseful; by choosing to remain silent, which is his constitutional right, he failed to apologise to the victim,” said magistrate Malunga.
Magistrate Malunga also noted that although the offender is a young person, failing to imprison him would send a wrong message to violent individuals in the community.
The prosecutor, Owen Mugari, stated that in this case, aggravating factors outweighed mitigating factors.
The circumstances were that on January 2, 2025, at around 2 am, Revival visited his brother Darlington Ncube's house in Cowdray Park and suddenly announced he wanted to leave during the night.
When Darlington followed him to stop him, Revival stabbed his brother with a kitchen knife in the abdomen, left arm, and back. The matter was reported to the police, leading to Revival’ s arrest.
Throughout the trial, he denied the offence, claiming he acted in self-defence.
He said that on the day in question, he had gone to his brother Darlington Ncube’s house to celebrate the New Year and found his brother intoxicated.
He said that Darlington began insulting him, and to avoid an argument, he decided to leave his brother in the sitting room and go to sleep in the bedroom.
Revival claimed that while he was asleep, he saw someone standing beside the bed, holding an object and moving as if to strike him.
He said he thought the person was an intruder and began fighting him. He further stated that because it was dark in the room, he only realised the person was his brother after Darlington called out his name.
Revival told the court he was acting in self-defence and had no reason to stab his brother, with whom he said he had good relations.
In mitigation, he pleaded for a lesser sentence, saying he was a first-time offender and had a two-year-old child he was looking after.
