Man stabs in-law over sister affair

A MAN from Victoria Falls flew into a rage and stabbed his brother in-law five times after accusing him of "authourising" his sister's love affair.

Appearing before Victoria Falls Magistrate Ms Lindiwe Maphosa, Nhlalo Moyo (30) of Chidobe village pleaded guilty to an assault charge.

He was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment and three months were suspended on condition that he does not commit a similar crime within five years.

Mr Takunda Ndovorwi represented the state.

The complainant, Mr Lizuba Mbhabhathizi is a brother to Moyo's wife. The court heard that Moyo discovered that his sister was having an affair with one Mhlengi Moyo and his brother-in-law was said to have "authourised" the affair.

It was not stated in court whether Moyo's sister who was at the centre of the stabbing was married or not.

Moyo told the court that he was drunk when he went to search for Mr Mbhabhathizi at around 2AM on November 14.

He found him at a bar in Chidobe and the two reportedly got into an altercation over why the complainant had allowed Moyo's sister to get into a relationship without his permission.

"On the 14th day of November 2016 at around 0200hours, the accused proceeded to Chidobe General Dealer in Victoria Falls where he found the complainant seated," said the prosecutor.

"Accused then produced a knife from his pocket and went on to stab the complainant once inside the right palm, on the right forefinger, on the left index finger, on the back of the left upper arm and on the back of the left shoulder using the knife."

Mr Ndovorwi said the matter was reported to the police and Mr Mbhabhathizi was referred to hospital for treatment.

Asked by the magistrate why he had committed the crime, Moyo said he was only trying to defend himself from his brother in law who was apparently beating him up. "I stabbed him because he was getting too close to me as we were fighting and I had to find a way to escape," said Moyo.

Before the magistrate could pass the sentence, Moyo begged the court to fine him saying the complainant had forgiven him. "My family and my in-laws sat down to talk about this issue. We have solved our problems and everything is back to normal," he said.

Ms Maphosa told him that if there was anything that the complainant wished to say pertaining to the case he would have relayed it through the prosecutor and whatever Moyo had told the court was not going to be taken into account. She sentenced him to an effective nine months in jail.