adminMbaura Chipinge (59), of Masina Village, Chief Malisa in Silobela pleaded not guilty to the murder of Simbarashe Denga (21) but tendered a plea of guilty to a lesser charge of culpable homicide when he appeared before the High Court which is on circuit in Gweru.
High Court judge, Justice Nicholas Ndou, sitting with assessors Messrs James Lex Dhlula and Wellington Takawira Matemba on Wednesday acquitted Chipinge of the charge of murder and found him guilty of the lesser charge of culpable homicide.
Justice Ndou suspended two years for five years on condition that Chipinge does not commit a similar offence within that period.
Chipinge was represented pro deo by Mr Wisdom Mehlo of Dube and Gundu Legal Practitioners.
The agreed facts as presented to the court by Mr Tafadzwa Mupariwa for the State were that on 18 October 2010, Chipinge went to Denga’s place to investigate a case of a stolen bicycle.
The late Denga was from the same village with Chipinge.
Upon arrival, Chipinge was advised by one Tambudzai that Denga was not around and had gone to see his uncle.
Some neighbours later told Chipinge that Denga was inside the house and that he had not gone anywhere as purported.
Mr Mupariwa said Chipinge went back to the house and forced his way in.
Chipinge found Denga lying on the floor and questioned him about the missing bicycle but got no response as Denga appeared to be weak and was uncooperative.
He struck the deceased with an open hand on the face twice and Denga confessed to having stolen the bicycle and offered to show him where he had hidden it.
As they were about to go while still in the yard the now deceased started shaking and frothing at the mouth and requested to lie down.
Chipinge then left the now deceased in that state in the company of his relatives who were of the opinion that Denga was drunk.
Denga’s uncle, Mr Mugumo Munikwa confirmed that Denga was epileptic and that what he was going through was actually an epileptic attack.
The uncle assured people that his nephew would get better.
Chipinge was later advised by Mr Munikwa that Denga had died just after he had left.
Denga’s body was ferried to Silobela Hospital for a postmortem.
Appearing before the same court was Danisa Silandeni of Gokwe who was facing a murder charge after he fatally struck his brother following an argument over a woman the two were proposing love to.
Silandeni, of Karigwe Village under Chief Njelele, Gokwe South, who was 20 at the time he committed the crime, pleaded not guilty to murdering his brother Mehluli but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of culpable homicide.
Justice Ndou sitting with assessors Messrs Dhlula and Matemba acquitted Silandeni of the murder charge but found him guilty of culpable homicide and sentenced him to six years in prison.
Silandeni will, however, serve an effective four-and-a-half years after two years and six months were suspended for five years on condition of good behaviour.
For the State Mr Samuel Pedzisai said on 20 July 2011 Silandeni and his now deceased brother, Mehluli were drinking beer together at Machakata Business centre in Gokwe South.
He said at around midnight, the two left the bar for their respective homes in Karigwe Village.
Mr Pedzisai said while on the way, the two started arguing over a woman in the village they both claimed to have an interest in.
The two were restrained from fighting by their colleagues who later proceeded to their respective homes leaving them alone.
Silandeni branched off to his home while Mehluli proceeded to his place.
However, Mehluli made a U-turn and proceeded to confront Silandeni who was now seated in a kitchen hut.
Mr Pedzisai said suspecting that his brother would corner him in the hut as he was clearly in a fighting mood, Silandeni retrieved a piece of firewood from the fireplace and struck his brother once on the side of the head.
Silandeni later went and reported the matter to a relative, Mr Kudakwashe Silandeni.
Mehluli was later taken to Gokwe District Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
The matter was reported to the police leading to Silandeni’s arrest.
Online Reporter