Jailed ‘self-defence’ maid freed on bail

A HARARE housemaid jailed for stabbing a gardener in the heart after he tried to rape her at a house in Chisipite, has been granted bail pending determination of her appeal against sentence and conviction.

The visually impaired Benhildah Dandajena (31) was granted bail by the High Court last week.

She was convicted of culpable homicide after she told the court that she acted in self-defence.

Dandajena was sentenced to an effective one-and-a-half years in prison.

Justice Tawanda Chitapi granted her bail after convincing arguments by her lawyer Ms Mildred Mubaiwa from the Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association.

Dandajena was released on her own recognisance and was ordered to report once a month to the police and to continue residing at her given address until the matter was finalised.

“Upon commission of the offence, she is the one who raised alarm, she did not flee, neither did she clean up the evidence, but instead waited to be apprehended,” said Mrs Mubaiwa.

“Against this background, applicant’s probabilities of evading the long arm of justice are next to none.”

Ms Mubaiwa successfully demonstrated that Dandajena’s prospects of success on appeal were high.

“Applicant contends that the court a quo erred in finding that the deceased had no weapon on him and yet in matters of sexual assault of a woman, the male anatomy and physiology is in effect a weapon of attack, therefore, the court erred in taking a superficial approach,” she said.

In her grounds of appeal, Dandajena argued that the court erred when it failed to appreciate that she acted in self-defence.

Dandajena was sentenced to three years in prison, but a year-and-a-half was suspended for five years on condition of good behaviour.

Dandajena and the gardener, Pfungwa Chimuchenga, were employed at the same house.

On February 4, 2016 at around 7am, Chimuchenga and Dandajena reported for work in Chisipite.

At around 10am, Dandajena was ironing in the main house, while Chimuchenga was cleaning the windows.

Chimuchenga approached Dandajena demanding sex, but she turned him down.

He tried to force her, but he was overpowered and left.

At around 4pm, Dandajena was in the kitchen when Chimuchenga entered the room and grabbed her demanding to be intimate.

Dandajena pushed him away and picked up a bottle of olive oil which she threw at him.

The bottle missed him and hit the wall.

Chimuchenga continued to advance and Dandajena armed herself with a kitchen knife.

She tried to ward off Chimuchenga using the knife, but he continued to advance towards her.

Dandajena stabbed him once on the left side of his chest.