Man jailed six months for assaulting wife

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A GWANDA man who assaulted his ex-wife with a hosepipe over the upkeep of their child was sentenced to six months in prison on Friday.

A GWANDA man who assaulted his ex-wife with a hosepipe over the upkeep of their child was sentenced to six months in prison on Friday. PERPETUAL PHIRI OWN CORRESPONDENT

Willard Ngwenya (28) of Spitzkop suburb was convicted on his plea of guilty to a domestic violence charge when he appeared before Gwanda magistrate Sheila Nazombe.

However, Ngwenya will spend an effective three months behind bars as three months were suspended for three years on condition that he does not commit a similar offence within that period.

The court heard that Ngwenya had a child with ex-wife Sobuhle Moyo (27), but later fell in love with another woman and left Moyo for her.

On 27 April at around 11am, Moyo went to Ngwenya’s place to ask for support for their child. This, however, led to a harsh exchange of words resulting in Ngwenya assaulting his ex-wife with a hosepipe.

His wife Angel Tshabangu intervened and took the hosepipe from him, but Ngwenya went on to assault Moyo using open hands resulting in her sustaining some injuries.

Ngwenya told the court that his ex-wife’s intention of coming to his place was to fight with his wife because he has always supported their child.

“Your worship I separated with my ex-wife a long time ago, but she is still a problem as she comes to my place to fight my wife. Last year I reported her four times about her behaviour, but I did not get any help from the police,” he said.

Nazombe said although Ngwenya was a first offender and had admitted his offence, she could not ignore the fact that he had committed a prevalent offence and that he had used a hosepipe.

“You should learn to solve matters amicably. You do not reprimand others by assaulting them. There is need for peace in the domestic set-up otherwise there will be no peace in the nation,” Nazombe said.