Father pleads with magistrate to jail son

Memory Rasa

GUTU – A Gutu father stunned the court when he last week pleaded with magistrate to send his biological son to jail saying he had failed to control the 17 year old Form Two school dropout.

 The teenager (name withheld), who dropped out of school when he was doing Form Two, was facing assault charges as defined in  Section 89 (1) of the Criminal Law and Codification Reform Act Chapter 9;23, after he beat up a grinding mill attendant, Tavonga Mhike (24), at Dinha Business Centre.

It is the State case that on the day in question, the teenager approached Mhike at his work place and the two had a heated argument before hitting the later with a stone on the forehead.

The court heard that Mhike fell on the ground and was unconscious as he bled profusely. He was immediately rushed to Gutu Mission hospital where he was admitted and later discharged.

The accused pleaded guilty before Gutu Resident Magistrate Edwin Marecha on July 29, 2016 and asked for forgiveness saying he was drunk and wanted to protect himself from the abusive Mhike.

 The father however, dismissed the mitigation and pleaded with magistrate Marecha that he should send his son to jail because he had failed to reprimand him.

“He is my last born child and I am now out of options. I sent him to boarding school (Gutu High School) with the hope that he would reform but he then dropped out of school for no reason. He is always drinking beer; I will be grateful if you can do something that would positively change his behavior. He do not even have time to bath,” said the father.

Marecha then sentenced the teenager to eight months in prison of which three were suspended on good behavior for the next five years. Marecha said the court noted with concern that the teenager was becoming a rogue element in the society and therefore should be sent to jail. Millicent Azangwe prosecuted.news