Online Reporter
Fairness Moyana in Hwange
A Tsholotsho man who brutally attacked and killed his neighbour with a stick eight years ago has been found not guilty of murder and assault on account of insanity.
Ndabezinhle Ncube (38) of Sawudweni Line, Chief Mathuphula in Sipepa, appeared before Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Bongani Ndlovu, sitting at the Hwange Magistrates’ Courts during the third term circuit.
He faced two charges, murder and assault but was acquitted after the court established that he was mentally unsound at the time of the offences.
According to the court record, Ncube, a known mental patient, fatally assaulted 52-year-old Selinah Malele on 10 March 2017, while she was herding goats in her field with her niece.
Without any provocation, he struck Malele several times on the head and body with a stick until she collapsed. The woman was rushed to hospital, where she died upon admission.
Moments later, Ncube turned on another villager, Robson Ndlovu (57), whom he struck once on the left eye before being subdued and tied up by fellow villagers.
The post-mortem conducted at Mpilo Mortuary revealed that Malele died from brain haemorrhage and compound skull fractures caused by severe head trauma.
The State, represented by Mrs Martha Cheda from the National Prosecuting Authority, and the defence agreed that Ncube suffered from simple type schizophrenia and could not comprehend the nature of his actions during the attack.
Justice Ndlovu ruled that Ncube was not criminally liable due to mental illness and returned a special verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity in terms of Section 29(2)(a) of the Mental Health Act (Chapter 15:12).
He was referred back to Mlondolozi Mental Health Institution in Bulawayo for continued treatment.
The case, was one of several heard during the High Court’s circuit session in Hwange, highlighting the intersection between crime and mental health in rural communities.
