Online Reporter
Danisa Masuku
AN Insuza man went on a violent rampage, torching his four-year-old stepdaughter with burning charcoal and smashing his mother-in-law with a brick, leaving her with a fractured arm.
Clement Donga (39) appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Abednico Ncube facing three counts under the Domestic Violence Act. He denied everything throughout the trial, but the evidence was overwhelming and he was convicted.
The court heard how Donga appeared to thoroughly enjoy assaulting his mother-in-law and never wasted an opportunity to pummel her whenever he showed up at her homestead.
The three counts were treated as one for sentencing. Donga was slapped with a 13-year jail term, with three years suspended for five years on condition of good behaviour, meaning he will effectively serve 10 years.
In handing down the sentence, Magistrate Ncube said Donga was a barbarian who needed incarceration to undergo much-needed rehabilitation. He described Donga as a dangerous brute whose violent actions had terrorised his own family.
“This was a callous and cruel attack. If the neighbours had not intervened, you could have killed both your mother-in-law and the child,” said the magistrate. “You must be sent to jail to be rehabilitated and reformed.”
The court heard that the drama began in February this year when Donga stormed into his in-laws’ homestead demanding to see his then-wife, Tryphine Ndlovu.
When told she was not home, he flew into a rage and assaulted his mother-in-law, Rosemary Mhlanga. Out of fear, she did not report the attack to the police.
On 24 March, Donga returned at night and violently banged on the door. When no one opened, he grabbed a dish of burning charcoal and hurled it into the bedroom where Rosemary and her granddaughter were sleeping. The red-hot coals landed on the little girl’s face, leaving her badly burnt.
The nightmare continued on 10 July when Donga showed up again, insisting on seeing Tryphine. When Rosemary told him she was away, Donga went berserk.
He picked up a brick and repeatedly struck her, fracturing her arm before neighbours rushed in to save her.
This time, the terrified granny reported the attacks to police, leading to Donga’s arrest.
Justice finally caught up with the violent ex-husband, ending a reign of terror that left a family traumatised and a community in shock.
