Man kills wife in drunken fight

A Bulawayo man who killed his wife during a drunken altercation in 2021 and went into hiding for more than two years has been jailed for an effective five years.

Godfrey Ndlovu (38) appeared before Justice Naison Chivayo at the Bulawayo High Court, where he pleaded guilty to culpable homicide following the death of his 23-year-old wife, Chelesani Ndlovu, at their Sidojiwe Flats residence in Belmont West.

Justice Chivayo initially sentenced him to eight years in prison but suspended three years on condition of good behaviour.

The court heard that on September 15, 2021, the couple had been drinking when a heated row erupted. Ndlovu struck his wife several times on the head and face with an unknown object, leaving her unconscious in the corridor outside their flat.

A neighbour, Holder Ncube, discovered Chelesani lying motionless, with swelling on her face and blood coming from her mouth. When questioned, Ndlovu admitted to assaulting her, accusing her of infidelity, but initially dismissed her condition as mere drunkenness. He fled after realising she had died.

A post-mortem conducted at the United Bulawayo Hospitals revealed she succumbed to cranial trauma, subdural hematoma and blunt force injuries.

Prosecutor Kenneth Shava told the court that Ndlovu evaded arrest for more than two years until January 2024, when police, acting on a tip-off, apprehended him at a shop in Mbamba, Tsholotsho.

In mitigation, Ndlovu, represented by lawyer Takunda Chapisa, argued that both he and his wife had been heavily intoxicated and maintained he had no intention to kill. He claimed the fatal injury occurred when he pushed her during an argument, causing her to strike her head against a wall.

Justice Chivayo accepted his plea to the lesser charge, ruling that while Ndlovu's actions were reckless, there was no evidence of intent to kill.