In-laws kill 'provocative' son-in-law

TWO Shurugwi siblings, Trymore Zhou and Edmore Chikove, were last Friday jailed to an effective three years each for killing their "drunk" brother-in-law accusing him of insulting their mother and sister.

The Gweru High Court circuit heard that on November 25, 2004, Zhou and Chikove pummeled their brother-in-law, Dambudzo Dzirove to death after he shouted that his wife was dull and did not satisfy him in bed.

Dzirove also described his mother-in-law as having maggots in her private parts, a remark that angered the siblings. High Court judge, Justice Maxwell Takuva found them guilty of culpable homicide and sentenced each of them to five years, before suspending two years on condition of good behaviour.

In passing sentence, Takuva said he considered that the two did not intentionally kill the deceased and that the case had taken too long to go to trial.

The court heard that on the fateful day, Dzirove was coming from a beer drink when he passed through the brothers' homestead shouting obscenities at his mother-in-law.

When the family invited him for private talks over the issue, Dzirove, who was in a drunken stupor, charged towards his in-laws. In the ensuing melee, Zhou picked up a stone and struck Dzirove's head, as Chikove then picked up a stick and repeatedly hit him on the head and left him for dead.

Dzirove was later found dead lying by the roadside, leading to the duo's arrest.