A 35-YEAR-OLD man from Gwelutshena, Nkayi, in Matabeleland North province, has been sentenced to an effective eight years in prison for brutally attacking a couple with the back of an axe.
Mduduzi Dlodlo appeared before Bulawayo regional magistrate Sibonginkosi Mnkandla, who convicted him of two counts of attempted murder.
He was sentenced to a combined 10 years, but one year on each count was suspended for five years on condition of good behaviour, leaving an effective eight-year jail term.
The court heard that on October 15 last year, Dlodlo and an accomplice, who is now deceased, went to the homestead of Khumbulani Khumalo in Sigilikithi village in Gwelutshena. The pair ordered Khumalo to open the door before destroying it and forcing their way into the house.
Armed with axes, logs and knobkerries, with the aid of hunters’ torches for light, Dlodlo struck Khumalo several times on the back, chest, waist and once on the ankle with the back of an axe. He struck Khumalo’s wife, Siphiwe Marufu, twice on the head with stones and also hit her with a stick.
The couple was rescued by Ndumiso Mathe and Velile Sibanda. The incident was reported to the police, leading to Dlodlo’s arrest. Khumalo and his wife were referred to hospital for treatment.
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