GWERU — A 27-year-old Mberengwa man Kudakwashe Mtetwa has been slapped with a double death penalty for murder after he stabbed his father and half brother following a family dispute.
High Court judge, Justice Lawrence Kamocha found Mtetwa guilty of murder with actual intent on two counts of murder and sentenced him to death on both counts.
The court heard that on January 30 2009 at around 7.30pm, Mtetwa, then aged 25, had a heated argument with his step sister, Charity, whom he accused of undermining his authority. In a fit of rage, Mtetwa hit her with a sjambok and scratched her chest with a knife, prompting his half brother Freddy to intervene.
Mtetwa turned his anger on Freddy whom he pushed to the ground and repeatedly stabbed him on the chest and armpit.
Mtetwa’s 66-year-old father, Meck later intervened but was also caught up in the crossfire after his raging son turned on him, ripped open his abdomen with the knife, leaving his intestines hanging out.
Other family members fled the homestead and returned later to find both Meck and Freddy lying dead in pools of blood.
Mtetwa had fled the scene. A post-mortem report produced in court revealed that both the deceased had succumbed to stab wounds and severe bleeding resulting in hypovolaemic shock and cardiac arrest.
