AN Inyathi man risks facing the hangman’s noose for allegedly spearing his nephew to death after the prosecution applied to High Court judge Justice Martin Makonese to convict him of murder with actual intent, which carries capital punishment.
RICHARD MUPONDE SENIOR COURT REPORTER
Everton Ndlovu allegedly stabbed and stoned Cornelius Moyo to death after he assaulted him for intervening in an altercation between the deceased and his younger brother Fanuel Moyo.
Cornelius had accused Fanuel of fondling his wife’s younger sister.
Justice Makonese is expected to deliver judgment today.
The State, through Whisper Mabhaudi, submitted to the court that Ndlovu’s intentions were premeditated as he waylaid his nephew in the dark armed with an array of weapons after the incident.
“It’s the State’s submission that the accused be found guilty of murder with actual intent. The accused waylaid the now deceased and stabbed him with a spear, assaulting him with several weapons leading to him suffering a broken jaw, broken leg, several stab wounds which resulted in his death on the spot,” Mabhaudi said.
“The accused is raising a defence of drunkenness, but from the look of things he knew what he was doing since he was acting as a peacemaker. He ran home to advise his aunt about the altercation and later decided to waylay the now deceased. This matter is a premeditated offence,” Mabhaudi added.
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Moyo in his defence said he did not intend to kill his nephew, but was acting in self-defence and the offence happened while he was drunk.
“He was attacking me, so I was defending myself. The incident happened after we had a lot of hot stuff. We bought seven bottles of Skippers Canned Spirit and drank four of them before we arrived at our bus stop in Inyathi where we had to walk for eight kilometres home. We were drunk,” Moyo said.
However, Ndlovu’s pro deo lawyer Dorothy Peggah conceded that his defence was not admissible in court as it appeared to be an afterthought.
She, however, asked the court to convict him of a lesser charge of murder with constructive intent instead of actual intent.
“The defence counsel concedes that the defence by the accused was an afterthought. It is therefore submitted that the court should not consider it. However, it is prayed that the accused be convicted of murder with constructive intent since the offence was committed during the night when visibility was poor,” Peggah said.
Peggah conceded after Justice Makonese had asked her to comment on the results of the post mortem which showed that the now deceased (Moyo) suffered a broken jaw, broken leg and had several stab wounds in the head.
The incident occurred on October 12 in 2008 when the late Moyo, his wife Nomsa Sibanda, Sibanda’s younger sister Eucalsys, Moyo’s younger brother Fanuel, his wife Siphiwe Ndlovu and Everton Ndlovu and his wife Moreblessing Dube were on their way to Inyathi from Bulawayo.
