The Sunday News
Fairness Moyana, Hwange Correspondent
A MAN from Dete went berserk and assaulted two elderly villagers before burning their homesteads after they failed to disclose the whereabouts of a friend he had a misunderstanding with earlier.
Nyasha Mudimba (29) of Gurambira Village under Chief Nekatambe ran amok and stormed a fellow villager’s homestead before assaulting his victim’s 82-year-old father and burning down his bedroom hut.
Still in a fit of rage he went on to strike a neighbour on the left eye with an axe before setting alight her hut. Mudimba last week appeared before Hwange regional magistrate, Mr Collet Ncube facing attempted murder and destruction to property charges but was convicted on his own plea to a lesser charge of assault.
He was slapped with a six month prison term for both counts of assault while he will serve 48 months for destruction of property. Eight months were suspended on condition of good behaviour while a further six months were set aside on condition he pays a restitution fee of $2 068 to the people who lost their property.
The court heard that on 26 August, Mudimba arrived at Mr Samson Lori Mumpande’s homestead at around 6pm and demanded to see Mr Mumpande’s son Timothy whom he had a misunderstanding with earlier.
After realising that Timothy had locked himself in a bedroom hut he took a log from the fireplace and set ablaze the hut, destroying it and property worth $1 431.
The property destroyed included various clothing items, blankets, groceries and $600 cash. After realising that Mumpande’s son had escaped from the burning hut he diverted his anger to the 82-year-old man by striking him with a wooden log once on the head, right hand and left leg.
Mudimba continued his pursuit of Timothy until he tracked him down to Mr Raphael Misheck Sibanda’s homestead where he had sought refuge.
When Mr Sibanda’s wife Mrs Beauty Sibanda could not account for Timothy, an infuriated Mudimba exercised his anger on her by striking her with an axe on the left eye.
He then burnt down Mrs Sibanda’s hut destroying property worth $637 before fleeing. He was subsequently arrested after a police report was made.
Mr Tinomupeyi Mbiza prosecuted.
