Man kills girlfriend with chisel, jailed 20 years

A BINDURA man used a chisel to kill his girlfriend after accusing her of cheating on him.

He has now been jailed for 20 years. The incident took place in 2017 at Ushongani Village, under Chief Musana, in Bindura.

Brian Chikanya claimed his late girlfriend was cheating on him.

High Court judge, Davison Foroma, found Chikanya guilty after it was proved he used a chisel, an aluminium pot and a wooden stool in committing the crime.

Chikanya had pleaded not guilty to the charge claiming his late girlfriend was the one who turned violent and had died on her way to see a friend.

He has a previous conviction of culpable homicide and had a suspended three-year sentence, added to his latest conviction.

The State managed to prove that Chikanya confronted the deceased, during a sleepover, resulting in the two engaging in a brawl.

Investigations showed Chikanya then smashed his late girlfriend’s head on his bedroom wall.

Chikanya proceeded to hide some bloodstained blankets and the deceased’s undergarments in his kitchen.

He dumped the body at a nearby roadside where the corpse was found the following morning.

He later admitted to brutally assaulting the deceased claiming she had admitted to having feelings for another man.

In sentencing Chikanya, Justice Davison Foroma said the courts have an obligation to protect human life and no man has the right to end another life.

“Courts have an obligation to protect every person’s right to life.

“A message should be sent to the offender and any like-minded that violence in this day and age, of civilised human behaviour, will not be tolerated no matter the circumstances.

“It is not pardonable that the offender became so enraged that he assaulted a person, with whom he was in a relationship, to death.

“The court finds the offender to be a very violent person as confirmed by the recent conviction for culpable homicide.

“In the circumstances, the offender is sentenced as follows, 20 years imprisonment and the suspended sentence of three-and-a-half is brought into effect,” read the judgment.