Man bashes wife to 'revive love'

A 46-YEAR-OLD Bulawayo man assaulted his wife and destroyed her property because he wanted to force her to talk to him and revive their love which seemed to be slowly dying, a court heard.

Dodeya Nyirongo of Matsheumhlope appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Mrs Sibongile Msipa on charges of physical abuse and malicious damage to property as defined by the Domestic Violence Act.

Nyirongo pleaded guilty to both counts.

"I know that we love each other but she was no longer chatting with me. It has been a while since she refused to talk to me, because there was no money in the house. I did not beat her much, but it was just a slap. I thought if I did that to her, she would come to her senses, begin to talk to me and our love revived," Nyirongo said.

"What made me angrier is that she did not want to talk to me because I had no money."

According to Nyirongo, they had just been evicted from their home by a chief in Nkayi after failing to pay fees for their children at a school owned by the community.

Nyirongo's forgiving wife, Sikhohlisiwe Sibanda (41), brought a withdrawal affidavit, making Mrs Msipa to drop the charges.

"This attitude you have, that makes you beat your wife to solve your problems, shows that you have a very serious problem," said Mrs Msipa.

Prosecuting, Mr Charles Danda told how on 17 November 2014 at around 10pm, Nyirongo arrived home demanding food from the complainant.

"After the complainant gave the accused person food, the accused then asked where the complainant was coming from, but she did not respond," said Mr Danda.

He said the accused then went on to assault the complainant on the face several times with open hands.

He added that, on the same day, the accused chopped the complainant's wardrobe and bed.