Woman killed over gossiping

Nyore Madzianike

A BINDURA woman was last week sentenced to two years in prison for causing the death of a neighbour she had accused of gossiping.

Zvisineyi Rupiya was convicted of culpable homicide by Harare High Court Judge Justice Munamato Mutevedzi after a full trial. She was initially charged with murder, but was found guilty of the lesser offence. The State proved that on September 7 last year, Rupiya confronted her neighbours Joyce Chikomo and Beauty Mutyambizi, demanding to know what they were talking about. Chikomo replied that they were discussing a rumour of an alleged sexual encounter between Rupiya and her neighbour, Abraham Saramba.

Following the confrontation, Rupiya slapped Chikomo, causing her to fall.

She then kicked her in the ribs before being restrained by Mutyambizi. Chikomo sustained internal injuries and was hospitalised in Bindura before being transferred to Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals in Harare in a critical condition. She died on September 25. Rupiya was initially charged with assault. The charge was, however, upgraded to murder following Chikomo’s death.

In court, Rupiya admitted negligence that led to Chikomo’s death, but denied harbouring any intention to kill her. The prosecution acknowledged lack of premeditation and provocation as factors in the case. Justice Mutevedzi sentenced Rupiya to three years in prison, with one year suspended for good behaviour for five years.

In his sentencing, Justice Mutevedzi said: “We, however, already intimated the undesirability of equating this negligence crime to intentional murder. The sentencing guidelines provide for five years’ imprisonment as the presumptive penalty, where there are aggravating circumstances. As already pointed out, there are sufficiently weighty mitigatory circumstances in this case.

“As such, much as the court must send the correct message that human life will always be protected, it will not serve any practical purpose to sentence the offender to an unduly lengthy prison term, yet the offender cannot possibly escape some form of imprisonment.”