A shop owner has been jailed for 15 years after he was convicted of murder with constructive intent after he strangled his pregnant wife with an electric cable.
This was after the woman had asked for some money to visit a clinic.
Bernard Kufakunesu, who runs a shop at Masiyarwa Business Centre, Zvimba, killed Viola Chitsinde, with whom he had two children.
Justice Catherine Bachi-Mzawazi heard that on October 28, 2024, at Masiyarwa Business Centre, a pregnant Chitsinde approached Kufakunesu and asked for some money for a scan.
She was in the company of a police officer stationed at Kutama Police Station, whom she used to engage each time they had misunderstandings
As Chitsinde spoke to her husband, the conversation got heated after she picked his phone and started going through his messages.
The court heard that the couple then started fighting, and when Kufakunesu slapped his wife on the face, she aimed an electric iron at him.
Kufakunesu grabbed the iron and strangled her with its cable.
The court heard that Chitsinde died inside the shop but her body was found dumped some kilometres away.
Though no amount of punishment compensates the loss of human life, the circumstances of this case and the degree of blameworthiness, coupled with the many aggravatory factors stated above, calls for a deterrent penalty,” said Justice Bhachi-Mzawazi during the sentence. Netnews.
