News / Local
Murder suspect feigns madness
14 Feb 2014 at 15:55hrs | Views
A MURDER suspect feigned madness at the Bulawayo High Court yesterday, halting his trial. Prosecutors Nokuthaba Ngwenya and Gugulethu Ndlovu and defence lawyer, Byron Sengweni, were convinced that Philani Maphosa, 29, was pretending to be insane to evade trial.
"Inkomo, ugogo, ekhaya (cow, grandmother, home)," were some of the disjointed words Maphosa uttered when prosecutors and his pro deo lawyer greeted him just before start of his trial.
Dumbfounded, the prosecutors and defence lawyer met the judge, Justice Andrew Mutema, in his chambers.
Justice Mutema ordered that Maphosa be examined by two doctors to ascertain his mental state in terms of the Mental Health Act before his trial for the alleged murder of 36-year-old Ncedisani Sibanda.
The trial was deferred to February 26 when doctors are expected to have compiled a medical report.
Prosecutors allege that Maphosa struck Sibanda with a hoe in full view of her two minor children aged six and nine.
Maphosa reportedly went berserk after picking up a handwritten love letter along a path in Matobo on August 21, 2012.
He suspected the letter was written by Jethro Ndlovu, Sibanda's husband, to his wife, Siboniso Dube.
Maphosa suspected the two had an affair and concluded the love letter he picked on the path in Mahosangwe village under Chief Masuku's area was meant for his wife.
He told police investigators that he caught Ndlovu handing over the letter to his wife, while Ndlovu's wife confirmed that the handwriting was her husband's and the piece of paper had been pulled out of her diary.
Enraged, Maphosa gathered some elders in the family to discuss the matter but his wife fled fearing for her life.
Four days later, he went to Ndlovu's homestead and when he could not find him, he vented his anger on Sibanda, his own cousin.
Prosecutors said he picked an argument with Sibanda while in the kitchen hut, and they both walked out in the heat of the row. Maphosa, the court heard, picked a home-made hoe and threatened Sibanda who fled back into the kitchen and closed the door.
Maphosa forcibly pushed the door open, prosecutors allege, - and then struck his victim five times on the back of the head leaving her unconscious with her children watching helplessly.
Maphosa reportedly fled from the village but was arrested a few days later.
His wife and Ndlovu deny ever having an affair and are among the witnesses testifying in court.
"Inkomo, ugogo, ekhaya (cow, grandmother, home)," were some of the disjointed words Maphosa uttered when prosecutors and his pro deo lawyer greeted him just before start of his trial.
Dumbfounded, the prosecutors and defence lawyer met the judge, Justice Andrew Mutema, in his chambers.
Justice Mutema ordered that Maphosa be examined by two doctors to ascertain his mental state in terms of the Mental Health Act before his trial for the alleged murder of 36-year-old Ncedisani Sibanda.
The trial was deferred to February 26 when doctors are expected to have compiled a medical report.
Prosecutors allege that Maphosa struck Sibanda with a hoe in full view of her two minor children aged six and nine.
Maphosa reportedly went berserk after picking up a handwritten love letter along a path in Matobo on August 21, 2012.
He suspected the letter was written by Jethro Ndlovu, Sibanda's husband, to his wife, Siboniso Dube.
He told police investigators that he caught Ndlovu handing over the letter to his wife, while Ndlovu's wife confirmed that the handwriting was her husband's and the piece of paper had been pulled out of her diary.
Enraged, Maphosa gathered some elders in the family to discuss the matter but his wife fled fearing for her life.
Four days later, he went to Ndlovu's homestead and when he could not find him, he vented his anger on Sibanda, his own cousin.
Prosecutors said he picked an argument with Sibanda while in the kitchen hut, and they both walked out in the heat of the row. Maphosa, the court heard, picked a home-made hoe and threatened Sibanda who fled back into the kitchen and closed the door.
Maphosa forcibly pushed the door open, prosecutors allege, - and then struck his victim five times on the back of the head leaving her unconscious with her children watching helplessly.
Maphosa reportedly fled from the village but was arrested a few days later.
His wife and Ndlovu deny ever having an affair and are among the witnesses testifying in court.
Source - chronicle
