Girl (10) exposes killer mum’s lies

By Mashudu Netsianda

The trial of a Bulawayo woman who allegedly stabbed her husband with a kitchen knife for arriving home in the wee hours, has kicked off with her 10-year-old daughter nailing her mother by exposing her lies.

Nomzamo Luhle Dube (31) of Pumula South allegedly fatally stabbed her husband Mr Martin Luther Jabulani Ncube (30) in March last year.

Dube appeared before Bulawayo High Court judge, Justice Maxwell Takuva, facing a murder charge.

The accused person’s daughter, Thubelihle Shantel Dube (10), in her testimony, gave a detailed account of how her mother incessantly attacked her stepfather before heartlessly stabbing him with a kitchen knife as he persistently pleaded for mercy.

“My step dad arrived home shortly after 1AM and knocked on the door while we were watching television with my mother. My mother refused to open the door and he persistently pleaded with her to open, but she remained adamant,” said Thubelihle in her testimony.

She told the court that her mother later instructed her to open the door and when the deceased walked in, an altercation ensued between the two.

“When dad walked in, my mother immediately shouted at him before they went to the bedroom. I followed them and witnessed my mother indiscriminately punching dad on the face as he continuously pleaded with her to stop. Throughout the scuffle, my dad never retaliated but only pushed my mother resulting in her hitting against a wardrobe,” said Thubelihle.

She said her mother went to the kitchen and returned carrying a knife hidden behind her back.

The girl narrated how she watched helplessly as her mother brutally stabbed the deceased resulting in blood gushing out.

She said Ncube staggered and went outside before he collapsed and died in their garden.

However, in her defence, Dube, through her lawyer Mr Shepherd Huni of Coghlan and Welsh Legal Practitioners, said she acted in self defence, arguing she was under attack.

“My husband arrived home in the wee hours and knocked on the door and I instructed my daughter to open the door, but she failed to open it. I then woke up and opened the door during which the deceased started assaulting me, saying I delayed opening it. He kicked me all over the body during which he tripped and fell and at that point he picked a knife which was on the floor and tried to stab me,” she said.

Dube said she managed to wrest the knife from her husband and accidentally stabbed him in the chest. She told the court that it was not her intention to kill him.

“Under these circumstances, I deny the charge of murder and plead guilty to a lesser charge of culpable homicide,” said Dube.

Prosecuting, Mr Kudakwashe Jaravaza said on March 2 last year at around 7.30PM, Ncube left his home with five friends for a beer drink at a shopping centre in his neighbourhood.

Dube followed her husband and caught up with the six men along the way and they proceeded together to the shopping centre where they drank beer.

The court heard that at around 10PM, Dube in the company of her husband’s friends left the pub and went home leaving the deceased drinking beer.

“The deceased arrived home at around 1AM the following morning and knocked on the door. Dube ordered her 10-year-old daughter to open the door for her father,” said Mr Jaravaza.

When Ncube entered the house, Dube allegedly started shouting at him for coming home late during which an altercation ensued between the two.

Ncube allegedly slapped his wife across the face and pushed her against the wardrobe.

Dube became angry and she went to the kitchen and armed herself with a knife. She retaliated by stabbing her husband once on the left side of the chest and he collapsed.

The accused person tried to resuscitate her husband by pouring water all over his body but he did not respond.

She called for an ambulance and on arrival the ambulance crew examined Mr Ncube and pronounced him dead.

A report was made to the police leading to Dube’s arrest. The Chronicle