A 24-year-old Binga man, Elliot Mudenda, allegedly fatally axed his younger brother for passing near his bedroom hut at night.
Mudenda, from the Gwatagwata area in Binga, is alleged to have repeatedly struck his brother Ian Mudenda until he died after he accused him of using a footpath that passed near his hut. On Wednesday, Bulawayo magistrate Sherpard Mnjanja
remanded him in custody to July 9 for indictment at the Hwange High Court circuit for murder. “You are hereby notified that I have decided to indict you for trial before the General Division of the High Court in terms of subsection(1) of section 105 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act Chapter 59 on a charge of murder,” said Mnjanja.
The court heard that on April 18 last year, Mudenda arrived at home in the evening and confronted his brother Ian, asking him why he was using the path near his hut.
A heated argument arose and the two exchanged harsh words.
Mudenda allegedly grabbed an axe and repeatedly struck his brother’s head until he died. The matter was reported to the police, leading to Mudenda’s arrest.
A post-mortem report produced by a pathologist from Mpilo Central Hospital confirmed that Mudenda’s brother had succumbed to multiple head injuries.
Mudenda was then taken for psychiatric tests and certified as mentally stable.
