News / Local
Witness collapses in court
06 Oct 2012 at 04:23hrs | Views
THERE was drama at the Bulawayo High Court when a witness in the trial of a man facing a charge of brutally murdering his wife collapsed soon after the court had adjourned for the lunch break.
Soon after senior Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Nicholas Ndou and assessors Mrs Agnes Dhlula and Mrs Annette Moyo had left the courtroom on Thursday, Ms Beauty Pirikisi stepped out of the witness stand and collapsed.
Ms Angeline Munyeriwa and Ms Sifiso Ndlovu, both from the Attorney General's Office had to move in quickly and cover the lower part of her body with a gown.
Even her brother, Givemore Nyazvigo against whom she was testifying showed great concern until her unidentified aunt had to be called in and she made her sit up and gave her some water to drink.
She eventually got up and left in the company of the aunt and was back in the dock in the afternoon to continue with her testimony.
It is understood she has in the past indicated that she was very much touched by what her brother did and would have preferred to give her testimony in the victim friendly court where she would not have sight of her brother.
Nyazvigo (31), of Number 82 Cecil Avenue in Hillside pleaded not guilty to the murder of Lydia Sibanda (25).
It is his defence that plus or minus two weeks before 13 August, he started hearing strange voices talking to him and urging him to kill his wife as she was double crossing him with another man.
"As the days progressed, the accused would continuously hear multiple voices urging him to kill his wife, chop and mutilate her body into pieces and place the body pieces in the refrigerator where it would be easy for the voices to retrieve and eat," said the defence outline filed by his pro deo lawyers, Mr Kucaca Phulu and Ms Synthia Simangaliso Ncube, both of Phulu and Ncube Legal Practitioners.
He further states that on the night of 13 August last year he bought two bottles of Vodka, which he drank before smoking two twists of mbanje.
His wife's cellphone rang several times and she did answer it and voices started telling him that his wife was being called by another man who was her lover and that he should kill her and drink her blood, he claims.
He concludes by stating that at the time he allegedly committed the offence he was afflicted by a disease of the mind, was not in his sober and sound senses, as he was mentally disturbed to such an extent that he was not legally responsible for his actions.
Ms Pirikisi told the court that sometime in August, Nyazvigo came to her house in North End around midnight.
"He looked tired and very dirty and I took up the issue for coming to my house that late. He looked shaken and initially I thought he was drunk. He sat down and did not say a word but kept on shaking his head for about 30 minutes.
"He told me that he had just taken a life and after long silence again he started narrating what had transpired. He told me that he had had a fight with his wife and said during the fight she was carrying an object and he hit her badly and she lost consciousness," she testified.
Ms Pirikisi said Nyazvigo told her that after hitting her on the head, he placed her on the bed with the hope that she would gain consciousness.
He kept the body for two days and called a friend who indicated that what he had done called for imprisonment and that the best way out was to dispose of the body.
"He said they went on to chop the body into pieces and put them in sacks and plastic bags with his friend disposing of some of the body parts while he took most of the parts and threw them all over town.
"He told me that he had thrown away the last pieces in North End before coming to my house. We spent the night sitting and he started crying," she testified.
Ms Pirikisi said Nyazvigo indicated that he wanted to talk to their father as he could not cope with what he had done and asked her to give him money so that he could travel to their father.
She took her children to Gweru and remained alone and that is when she decided to call her aunt who came to Bulawayo and she narrated the whole story to him and they decided to make a report to the police after Nyazvigo's father became hostile.
It was her evidence that two weeks prior to the alleged crime, Nyazvigo came to her house and complained that he was having problems with his wife because he had found text messages in the cellphone indicating that she had an extra-marital affair.
"He looked confused and would not take advice from me and kept repeating that he loved his wife very much despite what she was doing. He also looked very angry," she said.
It was further her testimony that Nyazvigo grew up in a child headed family and that he was a problem child as he used to be truant at school.
The trial continued yesterday with the State leading evidence from his younger brother, Darlington Pirikisi who said that Nyazvigo started drinking beer when he was in Grade Seven.
Pirikisi, who is serving time for theft, told the court that his elder brother also smoked mbanje and that when he allegedly brutally murdered his wife, he was not at home and that when he came back and enquired about her whereabouts, Nyazvigo told him that she had gone back to her grandmother who stays in Pelandaba.
Pirikisi said his elder brother and wife always quarrelled with Nyazvigo accusing her of double crossing him.
Nyazvigo, he said started behaving strangely soon after the "disappearance" of his wife as he would come home drunk and did not want to talk to anyone.
It was his evidence that Nyazvigo told him that he had mental challenges in 2010 adding that he was not aware whether his elder brother had sought treatment.
His elder brother, he said was very jealousy and did not want anyone talking to his wife and if such a thing happened he would become violent and acted in an abnormal manner.
Soon after his testimony, the State closed its case and Mr Phulu made an application that the court finds that when he committed the offence he was afflicted by a mental illness to the extent that he was unable to form any legal intention.
In response, Ms Munyeriwa said the evidence before the court showed that he did commit the offence but could not be said to have been responsible for his actions.
"The evidence shows that he had lost control of his mind shortly before committing the offence and it would be competent to deal with him in terms of Section 29 (2) (a) of the Mental Health Act [ Chapter 15:12]," she said.
Justice Ndou will make his ruling on Monday.
The State case is that on 13 August last year at night, Nyazvigo had a misunderstanding with his wife.
The misunderstanding degenerated into a fight and Nyazvigo armed himself with an axe with a metal handle and struck her on the forehead, the State alleges.
He allegedly removed the axe where it was stuck and she died shortly after that and he covered the corpse with a blanket and continued drinking his beer until the following day.
Nyazvigo continued with his drinking spree and even invited his friend Raymond Moyo who allegedly learnt about the murder but never went back.
On the third day, Nyazvigo allegedly chopped the body into small pieces and put the pieces in sacks and plastic bags.
He dropped off the body parts starting with the heaviest near Ingutsheni Central Hospital, Famona and North End.
After disposing of the body parts, the State alleges Nyazvigo went to his sister's residence in North End where he allegedly confessed to the murder.
Through his indication, the axe, a kitchen knife and most of the body parts were recovered while others like the liver and heart he claims he flushed down the drain and buried the intestines at the corner of the yard where they stayed, these were not recovered.
Soon after senior Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Nicholas Ndou and assessors Mrs Agnes Dhlula and Mrs Annette Moyo had left the courtroom on Thursday, Ms Beauty Pirikisi stepped out of the witness stand and collapsed.
Ms Angeline Munyeriwa and Ms Sifiso Ndlovu, both from the Attorney General's Office had to move in quickly and cover the lower part of her body with a gown.
Even her brother, Givemore Nyazvigo against whom she was testifying showed great concern until her unidentified aunt had to be called in and she made her sit up and gave her some water to drink.
She eventually got up and left in the company of the aunt and was back in the dock in the afternoon to continue with her testimony.
It is understood she has in the past indicated that she was very much touched by what her brother did and would have preferred to give her testimony in the victim friendly court where she would not have sight of her brother.
Nyazvigo (31), of Number 82 Cecil Avenue in Hillside pleaded not guilty to the murder of Lydia Sibanda (25).
It is his defence that plus or minus two weeks before 13 August, he started hearing strange voices talking to him and urging him to kill his wife as she was double crossing him with another man.
"As the days progressed, the accused would continuously hear multiple voices urging him to kill his wife, chop and mutilate her body into pieces and place the body pieces in the refrigerator where it would be easy for the voices to retrieve and eat," said the defence outline filed by his pro deo lawyers, Mr Kucaca Phulu and Ms Synthia Simangaliso Ncube, both of Phulu and Ncube Legal Practitioners.
He further states that on the night of 13 August last year he bought two bottles of Vodka, which he drank before smoking two twists of mbanje.
His wife's cellphone rang several times and she did answer it and voices started telling him that his wife was being called by another man who was her lover and that he should kill her and drink her blood, he claims.
He concludes by stating that at the time he allegedly committed the offence he was afflicted by a disease of the mind, was not in his sober and sound senses, as he was mentally disturbed to such an extent that he was not legally responsible for his actions.
Ms Pirikisi told the court that sometime in August, Nyazvigo came to her house in North End around midnight.
"He looked tired and very dirty and I took up the issue for coming to my house that late. He looked shaken and initially I thought he was drunk. He sat down and did not say a word but kept on shaking his head for about 30 minutes.
"He told me that he had just taken a life and after long silence again he started narrating what had transpired. He told me that he had had a fight with his wife and said during the fight she was carrying an object and he hit her badly and she lost consciousness," she testified.
Ms Pirikisi said Nyazvigo told her that after hitting her on the head, he placed her on the bed with the hope that she would gain consciousness.
He kept the body for two days and called a friend who indicated that what he had done called for imprisonment and that the best way out was to dispose of the body.
"He said they went on to chop the body into pieces and put them in sacks and plastic bags with his friend disposing of some of the body parts while he took most of the parts and threw them all over town.
"He told me that he had thrown away the last pieces in North End before coming to my house. We spent the night sitting and he started crying," she testified.
Ms Pirikisi said Nyazvigo indicated that he wanted to talk to their father as he could not cope with what he had done and asked her to give him money so that he could travel to their father.
She took her children to Gweru and remained alone and that is when she decided to call her aunt who came to Bulawayo and she narrated the whole story to him and they decided to make a report to the police after Nyazvigo's father became hostile.
It was her evidence that two weeks prior to the alleged crime, Nyazvigo came to her house and complained that he was having problems with his wife because he had found text messages in the cellphone indicating that she had an extra-marital affair.
"He looked confused and would not take advice from me and kept repeating that he loved his wife very much despite what she was doing. He also looked very angry," she said.
It was further her testimony that Nyazvigo grew up in a child headed family and that he was a problem child as he used to be truant at school.
The trial continued yesterday with the State leading evidence from his younger brother, Darlington Pirikisi who said that Nyazvigo started drinking beer when he was in Grade Seven.
Pirikisi, who is serving time for theft, told the court that his elder brother also smoked mbanje and that when he allegedly brutally murdered his wife, he was not at home and that when he came back and enquired about her whereabouts, Nyazvigo told him that she had gone back to her grandmother who stays in Pelandaba.
Pirikisi said his elder brother and wife always quarrelled with Nyazvigo accusing her of double crossing him.
Nyazvigo, he said started behaving strangely soon after the "disappearance" of his wife as he would come home drunk and did not want to talk to anyone.
It was his evidence that Nyazvigo told him that he had mental challenges in 2010 adding that he was not aware whether his elder brother had sought treatment.
His elder brother, he said was very jealousy and did not want anyone talking to his wife and if such a thing happened he would become violent and acted in an abnormal manner.
Soon after his testimony, the State closed its case and Mr Phulu made an application that the court finds that when he committed the offence he was afflicted by a mental illness to the extent that he was unable to form any legal intention.
In response, Ms Munyeriwa said the evidence before the court showed that he did commit the offence but could not be said to have been responsible for his actions.
"The evidence shows that he had lost control of his mind shortly before committing the offence and it would be competent to deal with him in terms of Section 29 (2) (a) of the Mental Health Act [ Chapter 15:12]," she said.
Justice Ndou will make his ruling on Monday.
The State case is that on 13 August last year at night, Nyazvigo had a misunderstanding with his wife.
The misunderstanding degenerated into a fight and Nyazvigo armed himself with an axe with a metal handle and struck her on the forehead, the State alleges.
He allegedly removed the axe where it was stuck and she died shortly after that and he covered the corpse with a blanket and continued drinking his beer until the following day.
Nyazvigo continued with his drinking spree and even invited his friend Raymond Moyo who allegedly learnt about the murder but never went back.
On the third day, Nyazvigo allegedly chopped the body into small pieces and put the pieces in sacks and plastic bags.
He dropped off the body parts starting with the heaviest near Ingutsheni Central Hospital, Famona and North End.
After disposing of the body parts, the State alleges Nyazvigo went to his sister's residence in North End where he allegedly confessed to the murder.
Through his indication, the axe, a kitchen knife and most of the body parts were recovered while others like the liver and heart he claims he flushed down the drain and buried the intestines at the corner of the yard where they stayed, these were not recovered.
Source - TC
