MARTIN MAWAYA
GWERU-A-40- year old Shurugwi man was yesterday sentenced to 3 years in prison for assaulting his 13 year old son to death for gossiping about his extra marital affairs to his step mother, Berita Mapiye.
Sitting at the Gweru High court circuit, Justice Christopher Dube-Banda convicted Chenjerai Mandiziva of Edward Farm in Shurugwi for culpable homicide after he found him not guilty for murder.
Mandiziva will save 2 years after a year was suspended for good behavior.
Delivering the sentence, Justice Dube-Banda said, “the assault was too much because the postmortem showed that the liver, kidney and lungs of the deceased ( Takunda John Mandiziva) had a blood clot”.
In his defense through his lawyer, Abiata Mugari of Gundu, Dube and Pamacheche Legal Practitioners, Mandiziva denied the murder charge and tendered a limited plea of culpable homicide which the state acceded to.
Mugari told the court that, “the accused person denies having requisite intention to kill his son. Rather the accused person acknowledged that through his conduct aforesaid, he was negligent in causing the death of the deceased,” she said.
Appearing for the State, Linah Mamombe told the court that on the November 8, 2020, Mandiziva arrived home and overhead Takunda discussing with his step mother Mapiye about his infidelity.
The court heard that Mandiziva then indicated that he wanted to discipline Takunda to stop him from gossiping.
“He ordered the deceased to get into the house and proceeded to detach a switch from a nearby tree. The accused then followed the deceased to the house, ordered him to lie down on his stomach and started assaulting him on the back and on his buttocks with the switch,” said Mamombe.
She added that Takunda was then ordered to go outside and lay on his back in the yard.
She said Takunda then asked his father, Mandiziva to pour water on his body and he complied.
“The deceased requested for more water and the accused’s wife gave him the water to drink. At around 430pm the accused person’s wife examined the deceased (Takunda) and observed that he was now unconscious,” said the prosecutor.
The court heard that the matter was reported to the police and Mandiziva handed himself to the police.
Takunda’s body was ferried to United Bulawayo Hospital where a post mortem examination was conducted by Dr Juana Rodriguez Gregori on November 16, 2020 and it was concluded that the death was caused by traumatic shock and thoracic abdominal trauma.
