Man jailed 20 years for killing father

A MAN who fatally assaulted his 86-year-old father after accusing him of practising witchcraft has been sentenced to 20 years in prison by the High Court in Chinhoyi.

Justice Phildah Muzofa convicted Talent Chirongoma (28) of murder with constructive intent after finding that he repeatedly assaulted his father with wooden logs at the family's homestead on September 10, 2025.

In sentencing Chirongoma, the judge imposed the statutory minimum sentence for aggravated murder, ruling that although the accused may not have intended to kill his father, he must have foreseen that repeatedly striking an elderly man with wooden logs was likely to result in death.

"The attack on the deceased was callous and incessant," Justice Muzofa said.

The court found aggravating circumstances because the victim was over the age of 70.

"It is highly aggravating that the accused killed his father, an octogenarian. Instead of protecting his aged father as is expected of children, he was the villain," the judge said.

The court heard that Chirongoma returned home and became enraged after finding church members gathered with his father.

Evidence presented during the trial showed that he accused his father of practising witchcraft, calling him "the devil incarnate" and blaming him for years of family misfortune, including illnesses and other unexplained problems.

Church members fled the homestead before Chirongoma armed himself with wooden logs and repeatedly assaulted his father. A man who attempted to intervene was also attacked and knocked unconscious.

A post-mortem examination established that the elderly man died from an epidural haemorrhage and haemorrhagic shock caused by multiple injuries to the head, torso and limbs.

Although Chirongoma denied committing the offence and claimed he had been at work when the attack occurred, the court rejected his alibi after finding it was riddled with contradictions.

"Lies have short legs," Justice Muzofa remarked while assessing his evidence.

The court also admitted into evidence a warned and cautioned statement in which Chirongoma confessed to killing his father.

"I admit to the charge levelled against me that I murdered my father by assaulting him with wooden logs," the statement read.

Justice Muzofa ruled that the confession was consistent with both the medical evidence and the testimony of witnesses who appeared before the court.

During the trial, Chirongoma's mother, Makaita Chirongoma, testified that her son believed his father was responsible for the family's problems through alleged witchcraft.

Justice Muzofa described the witness as "obviously torn between two", saying it was difficult to determine whether she was more devastated by the death of her husband or by the actions of her son.

The court also heard that the deceased's widow believed her husband possessed supernatural powers that had tormented the family for years. However, the judge stressed that such beliefs could never justify taking another person's life.

"Even if he was a witch, an eye for an eye approach is not justified at law; it will certainly make the whole world blind," she said.

"The right to life protected in our Constitution is not for the perfect human being, who does not exist anywhere. That right is for everyone by virtue of being a human being."

In mitigation, the court accepted that the family's genuine belief in witchcraft had influenced Chirongoma's conduct.

Justice Muzofa said that, were it not for that mitigating factor, a sentence closer to 25 years' imprisonment would have been appropriate.

She ultimately sentenced Chirongoma to the statutory minimum of 20 years in prison.