Online Reporter
Langelihle S Nyathi
OVER a measly R15, a Chipinge man turned into a would-be killer and now he’s paying for it with six years behind bars!
Vengai Sithole (29) of Mbuyanehanda “B” Village, under Chief Garahwa, was this week convicted of attempted murder after launching a vicious machete attack on his neighbour, all because of a debt dispute over loose change!
According to the National Prosecuting Authority, on 17 November 2024, Sithole stormed into his 24-year-old neighbour’s homestead demanding the R15 he was owed.
The victim tried to settle the matter by producing a 100 Rand note, but with no change in sight, tensions flared. Sithole left, but returned with blood on his mind.
At around 7PM, the hot-headed villager came back armed with a machete and struck the victim on the forehead, leaving him with a gruesome deep cut.
Sithole was slapped with an eight-year sentence, two of which were suspended for five years — leaving him to serve an effective six-year stretch behind bars.
The case adds to a worrying rise in violent debt-related attacks sweeping parts of Zimbabwe, with authorities urging communities to find peaceful ways of resolving disputes.
