Do not kill for love

THE story we have today in which a Member of Parliament caused a scene as he dragged a man accused of cheating with his wife while assaulting him shows how people act when they are wronged by their lovers.

They are enraged to the extent of wanting to physically harm the cheats.

Such actions can turn tragic. Yesterday we had one such story headlined “Murdered over bedding married woman” in which a 33-year-old man was fatally assaulted after he was caught with a married woman in Mhondoro on Monday.

The man was reportedly beaten with electrical cables and sticks at Mandaza Village until he died.

The village chief, Chief Nyamweda — real name Claudius Mandaza — said another man was recently murdered over infidelity.

These murders need to stop. People need to stop killing for love.

It does not make sense to kill in the name of love.

You should never love your wife or husband or partner to want to kill for them.

The media has been dominated by issues of domestic violence and other forms of violence triggered mostly by love triangles, fornication and adultery.

Whether it was a man beating up his wife for sex or a woman scalding her husband over adultery, the media has been awash with issues of domestic violence.

While there is no debate about whether having an affair outside marriage is wrong or acceptable — because everyone knows it is wrong to have an affair or cheat on your partner — people have dealt with the cheating partners and/ or their mates in some regrettable ways.

Some affairs have led to unfortunate endings with people even losing their lives as a consequence.

Some have tried to formalize the violence by terming it crimes of passion but the fact remains, violence is a crime.

That solution has been tried over centuries, with wars being fought from individual to family to tribal levels but without bearing any fruit.

Violence only inflames hatred. Beating someone — no matter what they have said or done to you — makes you worse than they are or can ever be. In fact, it has made many murderers.

So whether it is a husband who has been caught with hookers or a woman who has been caught with someone’s husband, such people are angels compared to the partners who beat them up or kill them for these reasons.

Men go around cheating on their wives a lot but turn into violent murderers when they are victims of the same treatment. While adultery is wrong, we should remain modest and civilized when we meet disappointing situations like these.

Taking the law into our own hands should never be an option.