A-28-YEAR-OLD Nyamandlovu man who allegedly assaulted his four-year-old nephew before locking him up in a freezer appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Maxwell Ncube facing assault charges.
The accused (name withheld to protect the identity of the minor)pleaded guilty to the charge saying he committed the offence while drunk.
He was granted US$100 bail and will return to court on February 28 for trial continuation.
According to court papers, on February 11 at around 7pm, the boy was sitting with other family members in the bedroom when the accused arrived from a beer binge, grabbed him by the collar and slapped him several times.
The court heard that the accused then emptied a functioning deep freezer, forced the boy to get inside the freezer, locked it and placed a heavy object on top of the freezer.
The boy was later rescued and filed a police report, leading to the arrest of the accused.
“I was drunk when the incident took place and I would like to apologise for what I did, I didn’t mean to hurt my nephew,” the accused told the court.
