The desire to punish an alleged disobedient child ended tragically for an Inyati father and son after they fatally assaulted the 13-year-old boy. A High Court Judge heard yesterday in Mutare.
The pair, Betwell Magwenzi (33) and Baiton Magwenzi (53), was sentenced to 10 years each in jail after being found guilty of murder with constructive intent by Justice Hlekani Mwayera.
Baiton was the deceased’s father while Betwell was his elder brother.
Charges against the two were that on November 12 in 2005 and at their field they connived to assault the 13-year-old after they received reports that he was stealing other people’s property within the community. After lunch, Betwell took out a yoking strip and started to assault his brother in full view of his father and mother as per arrangement.
The court heard that the boy tried to flee but was pursued by both men who tied his hands and feet against a scotch-cart draw bar using a rope. The pair continued to assault the boy, Daniel, using open hands and other objects from which he bled profusely through the nose.
However, at a later stage the boy managed to free himself from where he was tied and started to crawl with his hands bound by the rope as he tried to escape.
At this stage, the court heard that the boy’s mother Constance Mutumira could not stomach the brutal assault and her pleas to the two men to set the boy free fell on deaf ears before she left the homestead to find solace outside the compound.
However the two would not stop assaulting the juvenile all over his body until he lost consciousness and died. A post-mortem report produced in court attributed the death to a ruptured spleen due to blunt trauma.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
In coming up with an appropriate sentence, Justice Mwayera said the court had a mandate to protect children’s rights and considering the imprisonment of 10 years would be appropriate.
Christine Nyamaropa appeared for the state.
