Knobkerrie wife basher jailed for 18 months

Senior provincial marriage officer with the Registrar-General's Office, Gordon Tsuro, was yesterday jailed 18 months for brutally attacking his wife after accusing her of infidelity. Tsuro was convicted of the lesser charge of assault after regional magistrate Mr William Bhila ruled that the State had not proffered sufficient evidence to sustain the attempted murder charges it had preferred.

Tsuro was then convicted of assaulting his estranged wife Rosemary Charlie.

Mr Bhila said there had been a lot of exaggerations by Charlie and ruled that there was no possibility that an axe was used, but a knobkerrie.

He noted that Charlie said she went into a coma for two weeks, but the doctor said she was able to speak.

Mr Bhila said in that case, a "short custodial sentence was justified and would send a clear message and deter would-be wife bashers."

He said the courts did not condone domestic violence.

The State proved that Tsuro seriously assaulted Charlie on May 15 last year following a dispute over a residential stand.

Charlie had that night prepared supper for Tsuro, who ate and retired to bed early.

She followed him to the bedroom and found her husband awake.

Tsuro asked for title deeds to their residential stand where they were building.

The State said Charlie told him that the papers were at her workplace, but he insisted that she surrendered them to him.

Tsuro then drew an axe from under the bed and ordered his wife to sit down.

She survived a strike on her head after using her hands as a shield.

Tsuro went on to strike Charlie several times on the legs and all over the body, resulting in her sustaining a fractured arm and deep wounds.

Charlie was later rescued by her landlord Edward Gwekwete and taken to Chitungwiza Central Hospital where she was admitted for one month.

When his trial opened early this year, Tsuro denied ever attacking his wife with an axe handle.

He told the court that Charlie was dropped off by her lover by the name Ropi at or near the gate to their matrimonial home in Chitungwiza at around 7pm.

Tsuro said they had an argument and Charlie told him that her boyfriend called Flexon Ropi had better sexual vigour and stamina than him.

He told the court that Charlie hit him with a knobkerrie and while trying to disarm her, he pushed her against the dressing table and as she fell she hit against the bed's base and lay flat on the floor.

But when Charlie took to the witness stand she insisted Tsuro attacked her with an axe and later an axe handle all over her body after she refused to make available to him documents of a house she was constructing.

She denied having an affair with Ropi - she said he was merely her workmate.