News / Regional
Teenager kills rival suitor
04 Nov 2015 at 05:41hrs | Views
A PLUMTREE teenager who fatally stabbed a rival suitor with a knife was yesterday sentenced to seven years in jail. Phebion Sibanda, 19, killed Khululani Nleya, 21, when the two clashed at Asiyandeni Gumbo's homestead where they had both turned up to visit the same woman. Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Francis Bere convicted Sibanda of Madlambuzi village of culpable homicide.
Sibanda, who was initially facing a murder charge, will serve an effective three years in jail after four years were suspended for five years on condition that he does not within that period commit a similar crime. Justice Bere said the manner in which Sibanda killed Ndlovu was brutal and beyond reproach.
"Although we view the use of a knife as opportunistic, the most pronounced factor in aggravation is that a human life was unnecessarily lost in a brutal manner," he said. Justice Bere concluded that there was an element of immaturity on the part of Sibanda when he committed the crime.
"It's clear that the use of a knife doesn't seem to have been pre-meditated and Sibanda's actions were clearly an act of immaturity. There is, however, a need to uphold the sanctity of life through passing a deterrent sentence," he ruled.
Prosecuting, Nokuthaba Ngwenya said on December 17 last year, Sibanda and Nleya were in the company of their friends when the incident occurred. The two men had earlier on attended a village meeting which had been organised by a local businessman for elderly people.
The court heard that on their way from the gathering which was held at Khame Business Centre, Sibanda and Nleya both decided to pay Asiyandeni Gumbo a visit, not knowing that she was double crossing them.
"Nleya was the first to leave the gathering and he proceeded to collect his friend who then accompanied him to his girlfriend's homestead. When they reached his girlfriend's homestead, Nleya found Sibanda standing at the gate with three other friends and he demanded to know what they were doing there," said Ngwenya.
Sibanda indicated that he was waiting for his girlfriend and an argument ensued between the two men with each of them claiming to be Gumbo's lover. Nleya then pulled out a whip from his jacket and ordered Sibanda and his friends to leave. He also threatened to beat up Sibanda if he did not comply.
The court heard that Sibanda's friends tried to convince him to walk away from the scene but he was too angry to listen. Nleya started assaulting Sibanda with the sjambok. Sibanda retrieved an okapi knife from his pocket and stabbed Nleya once on the chest. Soon after committing the crime, Sibanda fled from the scene, leaving Nleya's body on the ground. Nleya's friend tried to seek help but it was to no avail as he died moments later.
According to a postmortem report, pathologists concluded that the cause of the death was a stab wound, assault and haemorrhagic shock. A report was made and police managed to arrest Sibanda a few days later.
Sibanda, who was initially facing a murder charge, will serve an effective three years in jail after four years were suspended for five years on condition that he does not within that period commit a similar crime. Justice Bere said the manner in which Sibanda killed Ndlovu was brutal and beyond reproach.
"Although we view the use of a knife as opportunistic, the most pronounced factor in aggravation is that a human life was unnecessarily lost in a brutal manner," he said. Justice Bere concluded that there was an element of immaturity on the part of Sibanda when he committed the crime.
"It's clear that the use of a knife doesn't seem to have been pre-meditated and Sibanda's actions were clearly an act of immaturity. There is, however, a need to uphold the sanctity of life through passing a deterrent sentence," he ruled.
Prosecuting, Nokuthaba Ngwenya said on December 17 last year, Sibanda and Nleya were in the company of their friends when the incident occurred. The two men had earlier on attended a village meeting which had been organised by a local businessman for elderly people.
"Nleya was the first to leave the gathering and he proceeded to collect his friend who then accompanied him to his girlfriend's homestead. When they reached his girlfriend's homestead, Nleya found Sibanda standing at the gate with three other friends and he demanded to know what they were doing there," said Ngwenya.
Sibanda indicated that he was waiting for his girlfriend and an argument ensued between the two men with each of them claiming to be Gumbo's lover. Nleya then pulled out a whip from his jacket and ordered Sibanda and his friends to leave. He also threatened to beat up Sibanda if he did not comply.
The court heard that Sibanda's friends tried to convince him to walk away from the scene but he was too angry to listen. Nleya started assaulting Sibanda with the sjambok. Sibanda retrieved an okapi knife from his pocket and stabbed Nleya once on the chest. Soon after committing the crime, Sibanda fled from the scene, leaving Nleya's body on the ground. Nleya's friend tried to seek help but it was to no avail as he died moments later.
According to a postmortem report, pathologists concluded that the cause of the death was a stab wound, assault and haemorrhagic shock. A report was made and police managed to arrest Sibanda a few days later.
Source - chronicle
