By Tendai Kamhungira
HARARE – A High Court judge denied bail to a Marondera man who allegedly fatally axed his wife and two-month-old baby following a long-standing dispute over money.
High Court Judge Joseph Musakwa denied Charles Caleb Bonyongwe bail, after ruling that it was not proper to release him.
The State had consented to the bail application.
“I do not accept that the State made a proper concession. This is not a proper candidate for bail,” Musakwa said, adding that Bonyongwe was likely to receive a death penalty if convicted and in the absence of extenuating circumstances.
He also said Bonyongwe, 28, was supposed to undergo psychiatric evaluation, considering the way he committed the alleged murder.
The court heard that Bonyongwe, his wife Choice Mashonganyika, and their baby went to Avoncliff Farm to work in a tobacco field in January this year.
It is alleged that the two were later seen leaving the farm with Mashonganyika carrying their baby on her back, while Bonyongwe was holding an axe.
According to State papers, this was the last time Bonyongwe was seen together with his family.
Prosecutors claim that Bonyongwe struck his wife and child with an axe on their heads three times and twice respectively.
Bonyongwe allegedly informed his relatives that he had murdered the two, before giving directions as to where he had left the bodies.
“Accused person led the police to the recovery of the axe which was used during the commission of the offence,” part of the court papers read.
According to an affidavit deposed by the arresting detail, he said he apprehended Bonyongwe in Rusape, while speaking on the phone, holding a pesticide, intending to commit suicide.
Musakwa said this showed that Bonyongwe was not a safe candidate for bail. Daily News
