News / National
Man set family home on fire, accusing them of witchcraft
27 Feb 2011 at 23:07hrs | Views
BIKITA - A 50 year old man was last week jailed for 20 years for setting ablaze several huts and killing an 81 year old man of accused of witchcraft.
Jeremiah Madhuku was convicted of murder with actual intent, but the High Court found extenuation in his case.
During the trial, the court heard that Madhuku accused the old man of causing the death of his mother.
Justice Susan Mavangira found that the case was witchcraft-linked among other complications, resulting in Madhuku escaping the hangman's noose.
Facts of the matter are that on February 24 2005 at around 10pm, the deceased - Mujaki Chiwodzwa (81) - was at his home with two relatives. When the three retired to bed in their separate huts, Madhuku arrived and set all the huts on fire, accusing the family of witchcraft.
The old man screamed for help and Ms Kusvoda Mujaki woke up and walked to his burning hut.
As she approached the burning hut, Madhuku confronted the woman and struck her with a cooking stick. Ms Mujaki fell to the ground and the old man later emerged from the burning hut while limping.
His attempt to escape danger failed as Madhuku assaulted him with logs and sharp objects resulting in his death.
In his defence, Madhuku denied the charges saying he was nowhere near the scene when the incident occurred although he was in the village.
Madhuku told the court that he had only attended his mother's funeral in the village when he heard of the death of Chiwodzwa. He told the court that he heard of his mother's death after returning from a business trip in Mozambique.
It was also mentioned in the defence outline that Madhuku did not stay in the village and that he would only come as a visitor for one or two nights.
He was based in Harare and did not spend more time in Bikita for undisclosed reasons.
Several witnesses confirmed the acrimony that existed between Madhuku's family and that of Chiwodzwa.
It was established that the families had had a clash over witchcraft accusations before the old man met his death.
Jeremiah Madhuku was convicted of murder with actual intent, but the High Court found extenuation in his case.
During the trial, the court heard that Madhuku accused the old man of causing the death of his mother.
Justice Susan Mavangira found that the case was witchcraft-linked among other complications, resulting in Madhuku escaping the hangman's noose.
Facts of the matter are that on February 24 2005 at around 10pm, the deceased - Mujaki Chiwodzwa (81) - was at his home with two relatives. When the three retired to bed in their separate huts, Madhuku arrived and set all the huts on fire, accusing the family of witchcraft.
The old man screamed for help and Ms Kusvoda Mujaki woke up and walked to his burning hut.
As she approached the burning hut, Madhuku confronted the woman and struck her with a cooking stick. Ms Mujaki fell to the ground and the old man later emerged from the burning hut while limping.
His attempt to escape danger failed as Madhuku assaulted him with logs and sharp objects resulting in his death.
In his defence, Madhuku denied the charges saying he was nowhere near the scene when the incident occurred although he was in the village.
Madhuku told the court that he had only attended his mother's funeral in the village when he heard of the death of Chiwodzwa. He told the court that he heard of his mother's death after returning from a business trip in Mozambique.
It was also mentioned in the defence outline that Madhuku did not stay in the village and that he would only come as a visitor for one or two nights.
He was based in Harare and did not spend more time in Bikita for undisclosed reasons.
Several witnesses confirmed the acrimony that existed between Madhuku's family and that of Chiwodzwa.
It was established that the families had had a clash over witchcraft accusations before the old man met his death.
Source - Byo24NEWS
