Christmas Day party killer sentenced for homicide
A TEENAGER from Lupane who killed his neighbour following a dispute after he was thrown out of a Christmas Day party was yesterday sentenced to six years in jail.
Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Francis Bere, who is on circuit in Hwange, convicted Carrington Moyo (19) of Foresta Line Village of a lesser charge of culpable homicide in connection with the death of Mjabulisi Ndebele who was aged 35 last year.
However, Moyo will serve an effective four years in jail after two years of the sentence were suspended for five years on condition that he does not within that period commit a similar crime.
In passing the sentence, Justice Bere expressed concern over the increase in acts of violence perpetrated by youths.
“Our concern is that only youthful offenders appear to have a greater participation in acts of violence and as courts, we have an obligation to nip it in bud before it gets out of hand. In aggravation, we are particularly concerned by the disparity in ages between the accused person and deceased. In fact, Ndebele was qualified to be of the same age with accused person’s own father,” said the judge.
Justice Bere said the courts have a duty to protect the sanctity of human life through passing deterrent sentences to offenders.
“Accused person had the tenacity to hit the deceased yet under normal circumstances, he was supposed to run away. There might be no better way of dealing with this challenge (of violence) than through imposing a deterrent sentence to discourage likeminded people,” ruled the judge.
Prosecuting, Ms Namatirai Ngwasha said Moyo and Ndebele were part of a crowd that was celebrating Christmas Day last year at Mr Belmore Sibanda’s homestead in Foresta Line.
The court heard that at around 9PM, there was commotion which led to Mr Sibanda switching off his radio and subsequently ordering people to leave his homestead. Ndebele started chasing people away from the homestead. Ndebele assaulted Moyo with a glass dropper on the back. Moyo retaliated by striking the deceased with a knobkerrie once on the head and he collapsed.— @mashnets.