Man loses fingers in love triangle fight

A LOVE triangle turned nasty after a Mozambican national (49) viciously attacked a Chipinge man with a machete resulting in him losing his fingers.

Matewu Sibanda from Chief Makuyana’s area of Mozambique appeared in court on Tuesday facing assault charges as defined in Section 89 (1) (a) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, Chapter 9:23.

He was convicted of his own guilty plea when he appeared before senior Chipinge magistrate Mr Noah Gwatidzo and was sentenced to five years.

He will, however, serve four years after a year of his sentence was suspended for the next five years on condition of good behaviour.

On December 18 at around 5am, the complainant, Farai Maunze (35), went to Sylvia Muisa’s homestead and found Sibanda inside the house.

Since Muisa was his lover, Maunze was offended by discovering that his lover was having quality time with another man. He proceeded to ask Sibanda why he was cohabiting with Muisa and a misunderstanding ensued.

After a heated exchange of words, Sibanda went outside and picked up a machete which was in the yard. He went on to strike Maunze several times on his hands.

Prosecuting, Mr Witness Nyamundaya said: “Despite his best efforts to evade Sibanda’s attack, Maunze lost two fingers in the process. As the attacks became more vicious, Maunze ran for dear life, calling for help from neighbours.”

He later reported the matter to the police and investigations led to the arrest of Sibanda.

Maunze was treated at Rusitu Mission Hospital.