Injiva kills man found lying on matrimonial bed

A Masvingo man working in South Africa allegedly killed his wife's boyfriend after he found him lying on their matrimonial bed at their rented single room in Beitbridge's Dulibadzimu suburb.

The injiva had allegedly abandoned his family and suddenly resurfaced after his wife had moved on.

Clever Dhambara (39) of Nyikavanhu area fatally struck Onisimo Mudzipurwa (31) using a broken piece of a mirror on the collarbone after he found him in his bedroom wearing a pair of jogger shorts.

Dhambara appeared at the Bulawayo High Court yesterday before Justice Nicholas Mathonsi facing a murder charge. He was remanded in custody to today for judgment.

Prosecuting, Mr Trust Muduma said on December 23 in 2015 at around 8PM, Mudzipurwa went to his girlfriend who is Dhambara's wife, Ms Chipo Mushonga's workplace at a sports bar in Dulibadzimu.

He requested for keys to Ms Mushonga's room but his girlfriend told him that she had left the keys at her sister's place.

The court heard that Mudzipurwa went to Ms Mushonga's rented house and gained entry into her bedroom through an open window.

"On the same day at around 9.30PM, the accused person who had already collected the keys to their room from his sister in law proceeded to the house," said Mr Muduma.

On arrival, Dhambara met his wife in the corridor just as she walked in from work. The accused person unlocked the door and found Mudzipurwa lying on their matrimonial bed.

Dhambara confronted his wife before assaulting her and she fled to her sister's house with the accused pursuing her. Dhambara's sister in law, Ms Tadirai Mushonga intervened before he surrendered the keys to her and went back to their place of residence.

"When Dhambara returned home he found Mudzipurwa still lying on the bed and he confronted him and the two exchanged harsh words," said Mr Muduma.

The altercation degenerated into a fight during which Dhambara picked a broken piece of a mirror that was lying on a kitchen cabinet. He stabbed Mudzipurwa once on the right collarbone.

Mudzipurwa bolted out of the room with blood gushing out of the wound and he collapsed a few metres away from the scene of the crime.

A female motorist discovered Mudzipurwa lying by the roadside and she rushed him to the police station before taking him to Beitbridge District Hospital where he died an hour later.

According to post mortem results the cause of death is stab wound and assault.

A report was made to the police leading to the arrest of Dhambara. He was found hiding at a friend's house in Dulibadzimu.

In his defence, Dhambara who is being represented by Mr Vezokuhle Ndlovu of Mlweli Ndlovu and Associates said he acted in self defence after Mudzipurwa provoked him.

"I fought the deceased after I found him in my bedroom lying on my bed. I had no intention of killing him but he provoked me by attacking me after I had enquired on why he was having an affair with my wife. I retaliated by fighting back during which I picked a piece of broken glass and threw it at him," he said.

Chipo, in her testimony, said Dhambara deserted her and the children and went to South Africa and never bothered to send money or food for one year.

"The deceased proposed love to me and I accepted because I wanted someone to take care of myself and the children after my husband abandoned us in 2014 when he went to South Africa to look for employment.

He spent a year in South Africa during which he never bothered to send money for our upkeep," she said.

Chipo said when her husband left he was not working and they were evicted from their rented house.

She told the court that the deceased is the one who looked for alternative accommodation for her and was paying her rentals.