A 30-year-old man from Lupane, Matabeleland North, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted of murdering his 77-year-old grandfather in a brutal assault at their rural homestead.
Obey Ncube was convicted by the High Court Circuit sitting in Hwange for killing his grandfather, Gibson Sibanda. He repeatedly struck him with a knobkerry.
He also used a metal handle of an ox-drawn plough during the violent attack in a hut at their family homestead in Manasa village, Lupane.
The court was told that the incident occurred on June 27 last year.
Ncube assaulted the elderly man several times all over the body, in an attack witnessed by his mother and wife.
After the assault, Ncube ordered the injured Sibanda to pack his belongings and leave the homestead.
Ncube later claimed that he had taken his grandfather to St Paul’s Mission Hospital for treatment.
However, Sibanda’s body was discovered on July 2 by children near a bridge in the area, prompting a police investigation that led to Ncube’s arrest.
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During trial, Ncube told the court that he suspected his grandfather of bewitching him.
He claimed that he found Sibanda preparing herbs which he believed were intended to harm him spiritually. This discovery caused him to lose control and assault the elderly man in a fit of rage.
