News / Local
Man fatally assaults friend for making to much noise
24 Mar 2012 at 06:30hrs | Views
An Inyathi mine worker, Soul Khabo has been sentenced to eight years in prison for fatally assaulting his friend because he had arrived home late and made a lot of noise.
Khabo whose age was not given, pleaded not guilty to murdering Reuben Ndebele but guilty to culpable homicide before Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Martin Makonese sitting with Mrs Elizabeth Chazanga and Mr Nehemiah Dube as assessors.
Agreed facts are that Khabo and Ndebele were employed at Impi 2 Mine in Inyathi and they shared a house.
During November 2010, on a date unknown to the prosecution, but at about 7 pm, Khabo went to bed and Ndebele was away drinking beer with his friends.
Shortly after that Ndebele came home singing at top of his voice. Khabo who was asleep because he was supposed to start work at 11pm did not take kindly to the disturbance and he told Ndebele to stop singing.
Ndebele did not stop singing and this angered Khabo who switched off the lights and punched Ndebele on the head.
Khabo left the house at about 10.30 pm leaving Ndebele asleep. When he returned from work on the following day he tried to wake him up but failed.
Khabo asked a workmate to come and check on Ndebele and he observed that he had a swollen face.
He woke up and told their workmate that Khabo had assaulted him with a blunt object.
Following the assault, Ndebele always complained of a headache. The headache persisted and on 11 January 2011, his condition deteriorated and he was taken to Inyathi District Hospital in a critical condition.
He was immediately transferred to Mpilo Central Hospital and died on the same day.
According to the postmortem report, the cause of death was subdural haematoma as a result of skull fracture caused by an assault.
Mr Khumbulani Ndlovu, of the Attorney General's Office prosecuted while Mr Thembelani Khumalo, of Cheda and Partners defended Khabo pro deo.
Khabo whose age was not given, pleaded not guilty to murdering Reuben Ndebele but guilty to culpable homicide before Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Martin Makonese sitting with Mrs Elizabeth Chazanga and Mr Nehemiah Dube as assessors.
Agreed facts are that Khabo and Ndebele were employed at Impi 2 Mine in Inyathi and they shared a house.
During November 2010, on a date unknown to the prosecution, but at about 7 pm, Khabo went to bed and Ndebele was away drinking beer with his friends.
Shortly after that Ndebele came home singing at top of his voice. Khabo who was asleep because he was supposed to start work at 11pm did not take kindly to the disturbance and he told Ndebele to stop singing.
Ndebele did not stop singing and this angered Khabo who switched off the lights and punched Ndebele on the head.
Khabo left the house at about 10.30 pm leaving Ndebele asleep. When he returned from work on the following day he tried to wake him up but failed.
He woke up and told their workmate that Khabo had assaulted him with a blunt object.
Following the assault, Ndebele always complained of a headache. The headache persisted and on 11 January 2011, his condition deteriorated and he was taken to Inyathi District Hospital in a critical condition.
He was immediately transferred to Mpilo Central Hospital and died on the same day.
According to the postmortem report, the cause of death was subdural haematoma as a result of skull fracture caused by an assault.
Mr Khumbulani Ndlovu, of the Attorney General's Office prosecuted while Mr Thembelani Khumalo, of Cheda and Partners defended Khabo pro deo.
Source - Courts
