Villager dies after homestead fight

A HEADLANDS man allegedly killed a fellow villager who had stormed his homestead during the night and threatened to set ablaze his houses.

Sithengisiwe Nyamadzawo of Plot 17, Chitachenyasha Village, has been arrested and charged with the murder of Stanford Ngilipano, who died in hospital five days after sustaining injuries during an altercation between the two men.

Prosecutor Malvern Musarurwa told the court that Nyamadzawo allegedly assaulted Ngilipano using his fists and slammed his head against the wall of a tobacco barn following a misunderstanding.

"The accused struck the now deceased several times on the face with clenched fists and rammed his head against the tobacco barn wall," Musarurwa said.

However, Nyamadzawo's lawyer, Tendai Bvuma, argued that his client acted in self-defence. He told the court that Ngilipano arrived at Nyamadzawo's homestead at around 11.50pm, provoking a confrontation and threatening violence.

"Nyamadzawo told him he would not come out of the house, but the now deceased responded by saying he knew what to do to force him out," Bvuma said.

According to the defence, Ngilipano then threatened to set fire to the kitchen hut where Nyamadzawo's children were sleeping and began stoning the bedroom hut. He allegedly pulled down the grass thatch from the kitchen roof and continued making threats.

Bvuma said Nyamadzawo eventually stepped outside to confront him, at which point Ngilipano attacked him with a stone, prompting a fistfight.

The two reportedly exchanged blows before Ngilipano fled. While running, he allegedly struck protruding barn poles, fell heavily, and sustained injuries that later proved fatal. He was taken to hospital, where he died five days later.

Bvuma argued that the circumstances showed his client had acted purely in self-defence.

He successfully applied for bail at the High Court.

Mutare High Court Judge Justice Isaac Muzenda granted Nyamadzawo US$300 bail and ordered him to report to the police once every two weeks.