PROMINENT Bulawayo black empowerment activist Sonny Kuzomunhu Chasi (74) was yesterday sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering his wife and another 20 years for raping his daughter.
SILAS NKALA STAFF REPORTER
Chasi, who was represented by a lawyer Herbert Shenje, had denied all the charges when he appeared before Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Martin Makonese.
Chasi murdered his wife Dorcas Majola (41) in 2012 after he found her pregnant by another man when he was released from prison. He also raped his 12-year-old daughter on six different occasions in 2008.
In mitigation, Shenje asked the court to consider that he was an elderly person protected by the law not to be sentenced to death and asked for a jail term of between 10 and 15 years saying Chasi had been angered to find his wife of 20 years pregnant by another man. On the rape charges, Shenje had asked the court to give Chais four years.
But prosecutor Whisper Mabhaudi shot down Shenje’s pleas saying what Chasi did was premeditated and he had shown no remorse.
Mabhaudi said Chasi deserved the death penalty and because the law outlawed it, he should be given life imprisonment.
He also wanted Chasi given 40 years for the rape of his daughter.
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In convicting and sentencing him of murder, Justice Makonese said: “In sentencing you, we have found you to be a canning individual. You perpetrated murder of your wife with callousness. You lured the seven months pregnant woman to a secluded place and you showed no remorse. You have learnt to be a person with (a) high degree of cruelty.”
Justice Makonese said after committing the murder, Chasi had lied to the police saying he and his wife had been attacked by robbers and took police to various places.
He added that Chasi traumatised his wife and the aggravating facts outweighed the migratory remarks submitted by his lawyer. In the rape charge, Justice Makonese said Chasi traumatised his daughter.
“Cases of child sexual abuse are on the increase. You raped your daughter. You should have at least respected your daughter. In this matter you favoured your own interests of seeking wealth at the expense of the child thinking that you would get wealth by raping her. The courts will never, must not and cannot trivialise the issues of rape,” he said.
Chasi assaulted Majola with an unknown blunt object after discovering that she was four months pregnant by another man on November 25 2012.
