A 43-year-old man from Sadza, Mashonaland East Province, escaped the hangman’s noose last week after the High Court convicted him of culpable homicide following the death of his wife, Margret Nduru, whom he had assaulted over a dispute over infidelity.
Tasisiyosi Rwodzi from Kadye village was slapped with a four-year-jail term by Justice Joseph Musakwa after pleading guilty to killing his wife two years ago.
Rwodzi will serve an effective two-year jail term after two years were suspended from the total sentence on condition of good behaviour.
Justice Musakwa heard on April 17, 2010, Rwodzi assaulted his wife who had accused him of bedding a prostitute.
The altercation between the couple started when they were drinking beer at separate tables at a local bottle store in Sadza.
The court heard Rwodzi had left the bottle store on his way home when Nduru followed and started shouting at him, alleging he had been intimate with a prostitute.
Nduru then proceeded home and an enraged Rwodzi followed her.
The court heard Rwodzi caught up with Nduru and slapped her once on the face and she fell on her back and in the process hit her head against a hard concrete surface. Rwodzi then dragged his wife into the house and further pushed her against the door, struck her with a sandal in the face and kicked her in the abdomen with booted feet. As a result, Nduru fell unconscious and Rwodzi laid her on the bed and covered her body with a bedspread and placed a pillow on her face before running away. Nduru’s body was discovered the following day by one Nomsa Nyathi who had paid her a visit. The matter was reported to the police, leading to Rwodzi’s arrest. In mitigation, Rwodzi told the court he never intended to kill his wife but simply acted out of anger after being provoked.
