A PSYCHIATRIC patient, who was released from the Chikurubi Mental Institution after serving 12 years for murder, has allegedly murdered two other people.
Jealous Tomasi was committed to the psychiatric ward after a special verdict was returned on a murder he committed in 2008.
He was released after a 12-year stint.
High Court Judge Justice Catherine Bhachi-Mzawazi has since re-committed Tomasi to the psychiatric unit for double murder.
According to evidence adduced in court, Tomasi relapsed because of inconsistence or neglect to take prescribed medication.
The court heard that Tomasi had to a certain extent resumed normal life and became an artisanal miner to earn a living.
It is alleged that on September 29, 2022, after retiring to bed in the company of his girlfriend, an altercation arose outside his makeshift cabin at the mining site.
He allegedly joined the fight and fatally axed one of the people involved and a neighbour.
- Psychiatric patient commits double murder
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Tomasi has been held at the Chikurubi Psychiatric Unit since July 12, 2023, in terms of sections 27 and 28 of the Mental Health Act.
An affidavit compiled by a psychiatric doctor in February this year chronicled his mental history and his current mental disposition.
A certificate prepared by the doctor certified him fit to stand trial.
In court, Justice Bhachi-Mzawazi noted that the actions of the accused person betrayed an “abnormal” person.
“His conduct of interfering and partaking in a fight which had nothing to do with him without even ascertaining the facts is tantamount to an abnormal behaviour,” the judge ruled.
“Additionally, the degree of aggression he exhibited in axing both victims clearly illustrates total loss of mental control. It showed that the accused at the time was incapable of appreciating the nature of his conduct or its lawfulness.”
The judge said the accused must be committed to a psychiatric unit.
“. . . though the accused does have some lucid moments or intervals, the commission of this offence shows that there is no guarantee that he will not once again turn into a serial killer,” the judge ruled.
“It will be akin to releasing a loose cannon or a time bomb waiting to explode with dire consequences. He is a danger not only to himself, but to his community and the society at large.”
“As a court and on the evidence before us one cannot guarantee that the accused will not relapse and that these tragic events will not recur.”
The judge said the accused needed further management and treatment until such time his mental state had been reviewed by the Mental Health Review Tribunal.
