Brother in court over fatal hoe attack

A 45-year-old Fort Rixon man has appeared in court facing a culpable homicide charge after allegedly fatally striking his younger brother with a hoe during a family dispute over support for their elderly mother.

Thembelani Dlamini of Fort Rixon, Matabeleland South Province, appeared before Bulawayo senior regional magistrate Mark Dzira. He pleaded not guilty to the charge and is represented by Dr Tanaka Muganyi of Tanaka Law Chambers.

According to the prosecution, the incident occurred on June 7, 2025, at about 3pm at the homestead of the brothers' mother, Lina Dlamini.

Prosecutor Jethro Mada told the court that the brothers had gone to their mother's homestead for supper before an argument broke out.

"The deceased and the accused went to their mother Lina Dlamini's homestead in the same village for their supper," Mada said.

He told the court that the deceased, Lungani Dlamini, accused his brother of being lazy and failing to assist him in supporting their elderly mother.

The argument allegedly escalated into a physical confrontation, with the brothers chasing each other out of the dining room and into the darkness.

During the altercation, the accused allegedly armed himself with a hoe and struck Lungani once on the right calf, leaving him lying on the ground bleeding.

The court heard that Thembelani then went to alert his mother and a neighbour that he had injured his brother during the fight.

He allegedly also tried to secure transport to take the injured man to hospital.

Mada said Lina rushed to the scene and found Lungani alive but bleeding and unable to speak.

She reportedly went to seek assistance from other villagers, but when she returned, Lungani had died.

However, the defence presented a different version of events, arguing that Lungani was the aggressor and that Thembelani acted in self-defence.

Dr Muganyi told the court that Lungani had arrived home drunk and confronted his brother over what he perceived as a failure to help support their elderly mother.

"The deceased was the aggressor. He came home drunk and met the accused at their mother's homestead. He started to accuse his brother of being lazy and reluctant to help support their elderly mother. The deceased was armed with a hoe and wanted to strike the accused," said Dr Muganyi.

He said Lungani attempted to strike Thembelani twice, but the accused blocked the blows with his arms, sustaining injuries to his right arm.

According to the defence, Thembelani then ran away while his brother pursued him.

"He managed to disarm the deceased, but the deceased would not relent, and in a bid to stop him, he then struck him on the leg with the hoe," Muganyi said.

The lawyer argued that his client had no intention of killing his brother and had only used what he considered minimum force to stop the attack.

"The intention was not to kill him but to apply minimum force to incapacitate him," he said.

Muganyi further told the court that Lungani was under the influence of alcohol and had become aggressive during the confrontation.

"The accused, seeing that he was under attack, had to act in self-defence," he said.

The matter was postponed to August 13.