Memory Rasa
MASVINGO – A 40-year-old man facing three counts of murder and one attempted murder for allegedly hacking and axing three children to death in Zaka last year told the Masvingo High Court that he was seeing mermaids surrounding him.
Munyaradzi Kudzidzvara, of Gonovi village under Chief Chikwanda, was appearing before the High Court’s Justice Mawadze for a pre-trial session last week.
Omen Mafa of Mutendi Mudisi Shumba Legal Practitioners, on behalf of the accused, argued that his client had mental health issues.
Justice Garainesu Mawadze ordered that the accused undergo a mentally examination first before setting the trial date.
It is alleged that Gonovi, who had visited his old aunt in Zimhungu village under Chief Ndanga, 60 km away from his own home, ended up butchering Ernest Dzinorumwa’s family after he passed through his homestead and thought he had reached his own house.
The incident took place in the early hours of Tuesday, May 10, 2016.
It is the State’s case that Earnest Dzinorumwa went outside to relieve himself after midnight and saw Kudzidzvara in his yard standing and starring at him and when he asked him what he was doing at his homestead, Kudzidzvara approached him instead asking why he was coming out of his bedroom and accused him of having an affair with his wife.
The misunderstanding led to a physical fight as the accused allegedly picked an axe which was lying beside Dzinorumwa’s bedroom door and chased him with it.
Dzinorumwa’s wife, Angela Kwangari went outside to see before locking her three children Leticia (8), Margret (4) and Liona Anesu (2), inside the house.
The accused allegedly struck her on the head and shoulder with an axe before breaking the door where the children were sleeping and dragged each one of them some few metres away from the hut where he allegedly axed them to death and left the axe stuck in Anesu’s head.
Neighbours are said to have found the accused lying close to his dead victims and was later arrested.
Takunda Chikwati represented the State.local
