Man axes brother to death

A Guruve man has appeared before High Court judge Susan Mavhangira on allegations of fatally axing his elder brother following an altercation over their late father's plough.

Graham Tunduhwe is accused of killing his brother Edwell in November 2005.

The court heard that a misunderstanding arose between the two brothers after Graham discovered that his late father's ox-drawn plough had a missing part.

According to State papers, the part had been removed by Edwell and he had fixed it on his plough.

Prosecutor Albert Masamha said this revived a long-standing dispute, which arose from how they had shared their late father's estate.

It is alleged that after Graham discovered that there was a missing part on the plough, he took an axe and confronted Edwell, who was watering his plants in his garden.

Graham allegedly struck Edwell three times on the head, before their mother Gladys Chabvuta intervened.

Edwell was later taken to Guruve Hospital where he died upon admission. According to a doctor's report, Edwell died as a result of "intracranial haemorrhage."

Graham is denying the allegations and is pleading guilty to culpable homicide instead.

He told the court that he always had disputes with Edwell. He said his brother had a tendency of removing certain parts from the plough, to prevent him from ploughing his fields on time.

"The accused thereafter, decided to go to his field to clear some bushes and he took with him an axe," Graham said through his lawyer Lewis Tendai Musekiwa. "On his way from the field he met the deceased and due to anger he decided to beat him up."

He claims that he assaulted Edwell with an axe handle, before they tussled.

"It was during this period that the accused by mistake struck the deceased once on the head with the handle and he recalls the deceased crying," Musekiwa said.

He said Graham did not have an intention to kill his brother.