Lovemore Zimoni, 29, of Village 2, Levanga Resettlement area, murdered Naison Zimoni in cold blood after the latter attempted to chase him away from home for labelling his mother, Marita Zimoni, a witch.
Lovemore courted the ire of Naison, who was 51 at the time in 2010, when he accused his mother of bewitching his wife.
High Court Judge, Justice Francis Bere who is on circuit in Masvingo, convicted Lovemore of murder with actual intent and sentenced him to 22 years in prison.
Delivering judgment, Justice Bere said while it could be true that Lovemore was angered by his father’s intervention in a dispute that concerned him and his mother, it was apparent that he had an intention of callously killing his father.
“You stabbed him because you wanted him dead given the multiple stab wounds and the vulnerability of the position you targeted. You could’ve been angered or acted in self defence but the weapon you used clearly shows that you had the actual intention of eliminating your father. However, in passing sentence, the court shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that you’ll be haunted for the rest of your life for having killed your biological father,” said Justice Bere.
He said the fact that the deceased was not armed and Lovemore went on to assault him using a dangerous weapon shows that the crime was premeditated.
“All the evidence given before this court shows that the accused had planned to murder his father and the lies that he acted in that manner because of the imminent danger from Marita who was holding a hoe do not hold water,” said Justice Bere.
Lovemore was represented pro deo by Frank Chirairo.
Prosecuting, Elson Chavarika said on March,31, 2010, Lovemore was at the family homestead with his late father, Naison and mother, Marita (age not given) when a dispute erupted over accusations of witchcraft.
“Lovemore accused his mother of bewitching his wife and threatened to hurt her. He then took his wife away and the couple put up at a fellow villager, Kelvin Gwama’s homestead. They returned home on the following day,” said Chavarika.
The court heard that when Naison saw Lovemore, he ordered him to leave his homestead because he had accused his mother of bewitching his wife.
“However, Lovemore refused and a dispute ensued. The dispute degenerated into a fight. During the shoving and pushing, Lovemore drew a knife and stabbed Naison several times on the abdomen and head,” he said.
Chavarika said Naison fell down and died on the spot. He said Lovemore immediately fled the scene. A report was made to the police leading to his arrest.
Naison’s body was taken to Chiredzi District Hospital mortuary for a post-mortem.
A post-mortem report availed in court showed that Naison died as a result of multiple stab wounds. NEWS
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