The now late Simbarashe Butete

…commits suicide moments later

Cephas Shava

MWENEZI – Florance Notito of Tavamo village under Chief Neshuro in
Mwenezi East killed herself moments after allegedly using two axes to kill her
husband Simbarashe Butete and their two-year-old baby girl, TellZim News has
learnt.

The grisly murders and suicide occurred
early morning today, January 02, following a domestic dispute.

After allegedly committing the heinous
acts, Notito is said to have fled into the bush where she hanged herself.

Although no immediate comment
could be obtained from the police, TellZim News contacted Chief Neshuro’s
secretary Pinias Shoko who confirmed the tragedy.

“I was informed about the
unfortunate incident a few moments ago. The village head told me the axe that
was used in the murder of Butete is still stuck on his head. I was also
informed that villagers are looking for Butete’s wife who is said to have fled
into the bushes.

 Tavamo village head Robson Paringira also
confirmed the incident saying Notito’s body had been found hanging on as tree.

“She killed her husband and
their baby girl using two separate axes. Both axes were found stuck in each of
the victims’ heads,” said Paringira.

Sources told TellZim News that
Butete was in the business of selling cellphones at Rutenga growth point.

They said he came home early in
the morning after spending the whole night at a New Year’s Eve gig at Rutenga.

An argument began after Notito
was not convinced by her husband’s explanations.

“The wife complained that Butete
was squandering all the money while his family lacked many basics so she
attacked him as he got into his bed.

By the time of writing, the dead
bodies were being transported to Neshuro District Hospital mortuary.

The two murder-accused men

 …as two men kill six-year-old girl, cut off private parts

 Cephas Shava

MWENEZI – In probably
one of the most gruesome murder akin to the Murehwa boy’s callous murder, two Mwenezi
men connived and allegedly murdered a six-year-old girl and burnt her body after
removing her genitals

The two accused, Taruziva
Sithole (37) and Shackmore Dube (26), who both reside at Chomutamba Village 3
under Chief Mazetese in Mwenezi West, were arrested yesterday, December 30, after allegedly committing the offence the previous day.

The two were not asked
to plead when they appeared before Mwenezi Magistrate Honest Musiiwa today,
December 31.

Musiiwa remanded them in custody for the murder of  the minor who is daughter to Sithole’s younger brother.

It is alleged that on December
29, the two accused persons connived to kill Irene Sithole who lived at the
same homestead with Sithole. On the same day at around 20:00, Sithole began to
assault Irene using a log and she collapsed and died as a result of the
assault.

Upon realising that the
girl had died, Sithole took a Shangani bag and placed the deceased’s body inside
and went to meet Dube who was reportedly waiting for him outside the homestead.

In the dead of the
night, the two carried the body to the bush where Dube reportedly used a knife
to cut the girls’ vaginal lips which he allegedly intended to sell to South
Africa.

In an attempt to
conceal the evidence, the two accused allegedly burnt the girls’ body using some
firewood.

The matter came to
light after Sithole’s wife, who had seen her husband beating the deceased, alerted other villagers who later on informed the police. Mwenezi police
attended the murder scene where they recovered the minor’s burnt skull, teeth
and ribs.

The girls’ private parts was not yet recovered by the time of writing.

Sources said the two
decided to kill the girl after Dube, who often travels to South Africa, promised
that upon delivering the private parts to his boss who is outside the country,
they would be rewarded with a car and a lot of money.

 Lyton Katsidzira appeared for the State.

Fidelicy Nyamukondiwa

Whilst
it might be a bitter pill to swallow for relatives and concerned citizens,
there is generally nothing unusual for a magistrate to impose a fine or
community service to a killer driver. However, each case must be dealt with
according to its own facts and merits.

There
was a public outcry when a Masvingo magistrate ordered an unlicensed killer
driver to perform community service after a tragic road traffic accident along
Jongwe Road in Pangolin.

The
accident took three human lives and resulted in the injury of four other
pedestrians.

As
usual, some sections of the public were quick to point fingers at the trial magistrate.
Our Constitution guarantees freedom of expression and opinion. For that reason,
there is nothing wrong in expressing views on a court judgement. 

That
corruption is rife in Zimbabwe is undeniable. But to hasten to conclude that a
particular magistrate is corrupt without doing a proper research is something
else.  I myself, have in the past
publicly criticized some High Court and Supreme Court judgements.  I however do thorough research before critiquing.

Facts
of the case.

The
fatal accident occurred in Pangolin, a high density suburb about 6kms out of
Masvingo town . It happened on the 28^th of August 2020. On the
fateful day, 26 year old Tendai Twelezinhle Gondo whom I shall refer to as “the
accused” was driving a Toyota Vista without a driver’s license.

The
accused rammed into a car which was in front of him. Instead of stopping, he
sped off from the accident scene. In the process, he tried to overtake an
undisclosed number of cars which were in front of him. Put differently, he drove
for a remarkable distance but on the wrong lane. The accused then lost control
of the vehicle and bumped into a group of seven pedestrians. As if that was not
enough, he did not stop. He sped off again, only to show up at the police
station the following day.

One
person died on the spot and two were pronounced dead upon arrival at Masvingo
Provincial Hospital. The remaining four pedestrians sustained very serious
injuries.  The injuries were so serious
to the extent that there is a possibility of permanent injury for one of the
survivors.

These
are the unchallenged facts that were presented to the magistrate.

The
charges and sentence

The
accused was charged with four counts; driving without a license, negligent
driving arising out of ramming the car which was in front, culpable homicide
and fail to stop after an accident. The propriety of the number of charges is a
discussion for another day.  What is
important is the fact that the represented accused pleaded guilty to all four
charges and was subsequently convicted.

The
magistrate sentenced the accused to 24 months imprisonment, 12 months of which
were suspended on the usual conditions of good behavior. The remaining 12
months were suspended on the condition that he performs 420 hours community
service at a local school. In addition, he was prohibited from driving for 2
years.

Analysis

Sentencing
is not as easy as it might seem. Magistrates are guided by sentencing
provisions set out in the relevant statutes, previous High Court and Supreme Court
decisions and, above all, the circumstances surrounding each particular case.

In
culpable homicide cases arising out of road traffic accidence, the majority of
previous superior court decisions lean in favour of non-custodial sentences.  In S v Duri (1989) the Supreme Court
okayed the imposition of a fine to a driver who knocked down and killed a 5
year-old-child.  In S v Ferreira (1992), the
accused was also ‘fined’ for killing a 7-year-old boy. In S v Duduzile
Manhenga (2015), an unlicensed driver paid fine for killing a cyclist.

As hinted earlier on, each case must be treated according to its facts
and merits. In S v Lusenge, former Chief Justice  Fieldsend
( 1981) remarked; “..unless it can be shown by the
evidence that the accused is guilty of this class of negligence it would be
improper to send a first offender to prison for a driving offence.”

The word “unless” imply
that imprisonment can be justified in certain cases. It is in cases where the class
of negligence is gross that imprisonment can be imposed. Negligence can be classified
as either ‘ordinary’ or ‘gross’. In the case of S v Mtizwa, an accused
drove on the wrong side of the road and killed a cyclist. The High Court found
that imposition of a fine was inappropriate because the negligence was gross.

Two years ago, a
fatal accident involving a Higer bus and a Land Rover occurred a few kilometres
out of Masvingo town along Masvingo Beitbridge road. A total of six people died
in the gross negligence case. High Court judges, Justice Mawadze and Mafusire
frowned upon the imposing of a fine in the case (S v Chifumuro). 

In the case under
review, the unlicenced driver drove on the wrong side of the road in a high
density suburb were traffic volume is normally high. That seven people were in
the road is testimony that the road was even busier on the fateful day. That in
my view is gross negligence, if not recklessness.

Having realised
that he had run over a number of pedestrians, the accused did not bother to
stop and render assistance to the victims. He left them to die!  He sped off at a high speed, endangering more
motorists and pedestrians. It goes without saying that his moral blameworthiness
was very high.

As
mentioned above, sentencing is not an easy process. A number of factors have to
be considered. The accused is a youthful first offender who was said to be a
GZU student. Although relatives have reportedly complained that he did not
fulfil his promises, it is a fact that his family rendered financial assistance
towards funeral and medical expenses.

Be
that as it may be, the public prosecutor who dealt with the case was of the
view that accused drove recklessly and hence imprisonment was inescapable. The
trial magistrate however thought otherwise. In the S v Chifumuro case
mentioned above, the public prosecutor also suggested imprisonment but the
magistrate would hear none of it.

Recommendation
and conclusion

If
a person drives a commuter omnibus without a license, the law provides that
imprisonment “must” be imposed regardless of whether or not the person is
involved in an accident. In such cases, magistrates generally have no option
but to impose not less than six months imprisonment. This is called a minimum
mandatory sentence. Stock Theft is another example of an offence with a minimum
mandatory sentence (nine years imprisonment).

It
is high time the law gets amended such that if a person drives any form of
motor vehicle without a license, he/she be imprisoned without any other
option.  The latter will go a long way in
putting unlicensed persons off the steering wheel.

May
the souls of all those who lost their lives through road traffic accidents rest
in peace. Drive, ride and walk cautiously this festive season and forever.
Human lives are precious and irreplaceable.

Wish
you a happy new year 2021!

Fidelicy Nyamukondiwa is a former public prosecutor
who writes here in his personal capacity. Follow @FidelNyams on Twitter.
0718975244 for views and comments

TellZim
Reporter

The man who on 28 August
2020 crashed his car onto three people, killing them instantly, before fleeing
from the scene has gotten off the so-called long arm of the law lightly after
being sentenced to community service.

Magistrate Patience
Madondo sentenced Tendai Gondo to 24 months imprisonment but went on to suspend
12 months on condition that he will not commit a similar offence for the next
five years.

The other 12 months we
suspended on condition that he complete 420 hours of community service at Burombo
Primary School.

Gondo, of Runyararo
West high density suburb, only handed himself over to the police the following
day after the accident.

He faced charges of
driving without a licence, negligent driving, failure to stop after causing an
accident, culpable homicide in which three people lost their lives and four
were seriously injured.

The court ruled that
the accused’s negligence on the day in question was ordinary and did not
warrant a custodial sentence since he panicked after realising that he had
bumped onto the back of another vehicle.

Gondo, who had driven
on the wrong lane after causing an accident, failed to control his motor
vehicle and went on to hit seven pedestrians who were walking on the side of
Jongwe Road towards Pangolin shopping centre.

The State had submitted
that the accused’s driving on the day in question was reckless and deserved a
custodial sentence.

The people who were
killed in the accident are Martha Mutseka (50) who had visited ailing relatives,
Nyasha Sithole (26) and five-moths-old Wendy Mubata who died upon admission at
Masvingo Provincial Hospital.