News / Local
Man axes father over food, 'roasts' his head
14 Jun 2021 at 01:25hrs | Views
A LAZY Inyathi man fatally axed his elderly father in a dispute over food and threw his body into a fire in a kitchen hut resulting in the deceased's head getting roasted.
Raighton Nkomo (29) of Stand 6 Village 1 in Kennilworth in Inyathi pulled his dead father's body and put the head into a fire in an effort to conceal the crime.
He was 27 when he killed his father Bernard Nkomo (61) in 2019.
After killing his father, Nkomo left the kitchen hut and went to sleep in another hut leaving his father's lifeless body with its head in the fire.
His younger brother Fyton Nkomo who was 17 then, arrived home later at night and slept in the kitchen in darkness and only discovered the body the following morning and alerted neighbours.
Nkomo, who is represented by Miss Charity Manyeza of Mashindi and Associates, pleaded not guilty to murder and guilty to a lesser charge of culpable homicide when he appeared before Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Evangelista Kabasa who is on circuit in Hwange.
The judge sentenced Nkomo to eight years in jail before suspending 18 months for five years on condition of good behaviour.
For the State Mr Bheki Tshabalala said the murder took place on July 16, 2019 in a kitchen hut at the family homestead.
"On 16 July 2019 at around 8PM, the accused and deceased had a misunderstanding over food. The deceased complained that the accused was only consuming food at home without contributing anything. The deceased picked an axe intending to hit his son who also picked another axe and immediately struck his father on the head," said Mr Tshabalala.
He said the now deceased fell down and died on the spot.
Nkomo pulled the body towards a fireplace inside the kitchen hut and put the head in the fire.
He left the hut and went to sleep and the deceased's head was burnt.
The accused's younger brother Fyton discovered the body in the morning and when he asked the accused about what had happened he got no response.
He alerted neighbours who helped make a report to the police.
Raighton Nkomo (29) of Stand 6 Village 1 in Kennilworth in Inyathi pulled his dead father's body and put the head into a fire in an effort to conceal the crime.
He was 27 when he killed his father Bernard Nkomo (61) in 2019.
After killing his father, Nkomo left the kitchen hut and went to sleep in another hut leaving his father's lifeless body with its head in the fire.
His younger brother Fyton Nkomo who was 17 then, arrived home later at night and slept in the kitchen in darkness and only discovered the body the following morning and alerted neighbours.
Nkomo, who is represented by Miss Charity Manyeza of Mashindi and Associates, pleaded not guilty to murder and guilty to a lesser charge of culpable homicide when he appeared before Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Evangelista Kabasa who is on circuit in Hwange.
The judge sentenced Nkomo to eight years in jail before suspending 18 months for five years on condition of good behaviour.
For the State Mr Bheki Tshabalala said the murder took place on July 16, 2019 in a kitchen hut at the family homestead.
"On 16 July 2019 at around 8PM, the accused and deceased had a misunderstanding over food. The deceased complained that the accused was only consuming food at home without contributing anything. The deceased picked an axe intending to hit his son who also picked another axe and immediately struck his father on the head," said Mr Tshabalala.
He said the now deceased fell down and died on the spot.
Nkomo pulled the body towards a fireplace inside the kitchen hut and put the head in the fire.
He left the hut and went to sleep and the deceased's head was burnt.
The accused's younger brother Fyton discovered the body in the morning and when he asked the accused about what had happened he got no response.
He alerted neighbours who helped make a report to the police.
Source - chronicle
