Woman in court for insulting neighbour

A 70-year-old Bulawayo woman allegedly insulted another elderly woman and accused her of bewitching and killing her children, a court heard on Thursday last week.

Bulawayo magistrate Mr Tawanda Muchemwa heard this when Rachel Tshuma of Mzilikazi, appeared before him on a charge of disorderly conduct in public for intentionally and seriously impairing the dignity of Alice Dube(72) of Mzilikazi.

However, Mr Muchemwa acquitted Tshuma since the evidence presented before the court was not enough to prove that she committed the crime.

"The complainant failed to state where the incident occurred exactly, at first she said that the accused insulted her while on the street and changed to say that she was in the garden. The evidence advanced on behalf of the State is so small that no reasonable court could safely see on it," ruled Mr Muchemwa.

He added that the complainant failed to state the exact date this incident occurred; rather she was changing between Saturday and Sunday.

Prosecuting, Ms Memory Takaedza, told how on 13 July 2014 at G-Square Mzilikazi, Tshuma's children were said to have been switching off the electricity on the main switch which is shared by a block of houses.

"This act angered Alice Dube's son, who went out and started throwing stones on the roof of the accused person's house," said Ms Takaedza.

Ms Takaedza added that the complainant followed her son outside where the accused person came from nowhere and started accusing her of being a witch.

"She insulted her in Ndebele saying 'Uyinja, mthakathi, wabulala abantwabami'. (You dog, witch, you killed my children) accusing the complainant of all sorts of witchcraft acts," said Ms Takaedza.