The ManicaPost
Nyore Madzianike Senior Reporter
THE courts will not treat with leniency people who voluntarily drink beer, act irresponsibly and cause domestic violence which may result in unnecessary death of their victims, a High Court judge has said.
Mutare High Court judge justice Hlekani Mwayera said the courts would not treat perpetrators of domestic violence with ‘kids gloves’ as such violence is rampant and on the increase.
Justice Mwayera said this recently when passing judgment in a matter in which a 79-year-old man Saini Asidi was hauled to court along with his son Robson Chilanga (49) facing charges of assaulting to death his other son over a cell phone.
Asidi and Chilanga were each jailed for four years after being convicted of culpable homicide.
They were initially hauled to court facing murder charges.
Justice Mwayera had initially sentenced the two to six years in prison before setting aside two years for five years on condition that they will not commit a similar offence within that period.
“Domestic violence is rampant and cases occasioning loss of the God given and constitutionally provided for right to life are on the increase,” she said.
“The court will not surely treat with kid gloves people who voluntarily imbibe liquor and in a drunken stupor act irresponsibly causing loss of life. The accused mercilessly assaulted the deceased in the presence of his juvenile daughter,” said justice Mwayera.
Asidi and his son Chilanga are said to have assaulted his son in the presence of his late son’s 16-year-old daughter, who was said to have tried in vain to restrain the two from assaulting her father.
Justice Mwayera said such behaviour called for custodial sentence. “That the juvenile daughter of the deceased witnessed the callous attack of her father over a cell phone which was available further aggravates the offence. The child and all other relatives will live with the trauma all their life,” she said.
Justice Mwayera also said there was need to send right signal to the community that physical prowess in a bullying manner is not acceptable.
She also described Asidi as an irresponsible old member of the society who would reign havoc in the community each time he partakes beer.
