News / Regional
Okapi killer sentenced
17 Sep 2014 at 14:41hrs | Views
A 19-year-old Gwanda teenager who fatally stabbed his friend to death on the throat with an Okapi knife accusing him of being a bully has been sentenced to 8 years in prison.
High Court Judge Justice Nokuthula Moyo found Austin Ncube guilty of murder with actual intent saying "accused foresaw death as a substantial certain result."
It is reported that Ncube accused the now deceased Zenzo Ncube aged 13 at the time of his death of bullying and assaulting his young brother. During the trial Ncube told the court that he had a grudge with deceased in that on Christmas day (approximately 5 days prior to the fateful day), the deceased had insulted him and he was restrained by his (accused's older brother) who was present then.
On the fateful day Ncube said the deceased further compounded his anger by dragging his young brother. "I indicated to the deceased that what he was doing was wrong. I got angry, confronted the deceased and then I ended up stabbing him," said Ncube.
However, in her finding Justice Moyo rejected Ncube's evidence of self-defence saying when Ncube attacked the deceased they was no attack on him or his young brother.
"It is important to note that in his words. The accused queried the deceased's conduct and although the deceased responded with disdain, deceased however started walking away, meaning that at that stage he had abandoned the attack on his young brother," held Justice Moyo.
She added that for evidence of self-defence to sustain, the accused's conduct should be necessary to avert the attack and it should be such that the accused cannot escape from the attack.
Said Justice Moyo, "The decision to then attack the deceased with an Okapi knife in the circumstances is certainly gross disproportionate to the harm the deceased was likely to cause or had already caused to his young brother since the attack was over."
In mitigatition Justice Moyo took into account that at the time of the commission of the offence the accused was 17 years old and that the deceased had attacked his brother.
"Accused was a minor at the time the offence was committed. He has already spent one and half years in remand prison. His version of events is primarily similar to that of the state witnesses, meaning he told the truth and is contrite.
"The accused is sentenced to 8 years imprisonment," summed Justice Moyo.
High Court Judge Justice Nokuthula Moyo found Austin Ncube guilty of murder with actual intent saying "accused foresaw death as a substantial certain result."
It is reported that Ncube accused the now deceased Zenzo Ncube aged 13 at the time of his death of bullying and assaulting his young brother. During the trial Ncube told the court that he had a grudge with deceased in that on Christmas day (approximately 5 days prior to the fateful day), the deceased had insulted him and he was restrained by his (accused's older brother) who was present then.
On the fateful day Ncube said the deceased further compounded his anger by dragging his young brother. "I indicated to the deceased that what he was doing was wrong. I got angry, confronted the deceased and then I ended up stabbing him," said Ncube.
However, in her finding Justice Moyo rejected Ncube's evidence of self-defence saying when Ncube attacked the deceased they was no attack on him or his young brother.
"It is important to note that in his words. The accused queried the deceased's conduct and although the deceased responded with disdain, deceased however started walking away, meaning that at that stage he had abandoned the attack on his young brother," held Justice Moyo.
Said Justice Moyo, "The decision to then attack the deceased with an Okapi knife in the circumstances is certainly gross disproportionate to the harm the deceased was likely to cause or had already caused to his young brother since the attack was over."
In mitigatition Justice Moyo took into account that at the time of the commission of the offence the accused was 17 years old and that the deceased had attacked his brother.
"Accused was a minor at the time the offence was committed. He has already spent one and half years in remand prison. His version of events is primarily similar to that of the state witnesses, meaning he told the truth and is contrite.
"The accused is sentenced to 8 years imprisonment," summed Justice Moyo.
Source - Radio Dialogue
