Mum ‘killer’ in the dock

Munyaradzi Musiiwa Midlands Correspondent
THE Gweru teenager who allegedly stabbed his mother five times with a kitchen knife and killed her after a quarrel over money on Tuesday appeared in court.

Kudakwashe Ashley Sibanda (19) of Southdowns then stole her car and fled to Harare where he ran over a pedestrian who died on the spot.

He was not asked to plead when he appeared before Gweru magistrate Mrs Judith Taruvinga while police applied to extend his detention.

“Constitutionally, the police are only allowed to detain a suspect for 48 hours and after that the person will appear in court.

“However, the police have applied to get an extra 24 hours of your detention and I have granted them the extension,” said Mrs Taruvinga.

The prosecutor Mr Daniel Tafuma told the court that the teenager was arrested in Harare on Sunday and was taken to Gweru where he was detained at Gweru Central Police Station.

Sibanda allegedly killed his mother, Barbra Sibanda, last Thursday by stabbing her five times with a kitchen knife on the left side of her chest and locked the body inside the house.

After committing the crime, Kudakwashe stole her car, which he used for his joyrides on a three-day drinking spree.

The matter came to light when a suspicious neighbour Chounlai Chindanga went to Sibanda’s house and found it locked and he became suspicious.

Chindanga, the court heard, alerted police who broke into the house and discovered Sibanda’s body in a pool of blood on Saturday.