By Leonard Ncube
Discipline gone wrong? A Binga man was so angry when he discovered his teenage daughter was pregnant that he kicked her in the stomach leading to her death.
A court has since sentenced him to 10 years in jail.
Anderson Munkuli (47) of Lubu 4 in Chief Binga’s area went berserk when he discovered that his Form Four daughter Respect (17) was six months pregnant and wanted to get married to the person responsible for the pregnancy.
On April 24 last year, Munkuli summoned the man – who was not named in court – and he offered to marry the girl but Munkuli was opposed to the marriage, saying his daughter was still young and in school.
A seething Munkuli armed himself with three spears and summoned his wife, Otilia and Respect. He ordered them to kneel before him and thrust a spear in front of each of them while he held the other, threatening to stab them.
Munkuli struck his wife three times with the handle of the spear before kicking the girl once on the stomach. Both fled in terror and sought refuge at a neighbour’s place where they stayed for 12 days as they were afraid to go home. The girl suffered abdominal pains after the assault but did not seek medical help.
She collapsed and died 12 days later on May 6. Munkuli was found not guilty of murder but guilty of a lesser charge of culpable homicide when he appeared before Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Martin Makonese who is on circuit in Hwange. He was also charged with physical abuse for the assault on his wife.
The judge implored parents and guardians to desist from using violence on children. He sentenced Munkuli to 10 years in jail but suspended two years for five years on condition of good behaviour. Prosecuting, Mrs Martha Cheda said Munkuli kicked Respect once in the stomach and punched her twice on the head on April 24, 2020.
“The accused entered a bedroom hut and came back armed with three spears. He shoved one spear near the deceased who was kneeling down and another closer to his wife and sat down on a stool holding the other which he used to hit his wife three times and the handle broke.
“He then kicked the deceased once on the stomach before punching her twice on the back of the head. The girl developed abdominal pains and died on May 6,” said Mrs Cheda.
Mrs Cheda said after the assault, Otilia and her daughter managed to escape and fled to a neighbour’s place. On May 6, Otilia decided to go back to her homestead leaving her daughter behind. Along the way, she discovered that the deceased was following her. The girl collapsed and died on the road. Ms Charity Manyeza of Ndove and Associates represented Munkuli pro-deo. The Chronicle
