BY NOTHANDO DUBE
A man from Inyathi in Matabeleland North brutally killed a 70 year-old woman after a self-proclaimed exorcist (commonly known as tsikamutanda) told him that she was in the habit of sucking his blood for ritual purposes.
Fifty year-old Mehluli Tshuma has since been sentenced to 20 years for the gruesome murder by Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Martin Makonese during a recent Hwange circuit court session.
Prosecutor Bhekimpilo Tshabalala told the court that on September 23, 29, Tshuma saw the woman wandering at 2 am around a neighbour’s plot that had been cleared for the construction of a homestead.
Two days later, at 11 am the man was on his way to Inyathi police station in the company of his wife to a make a report suggesting that the woman was bewitching him when he saw her at the plot.
Tshabalala said Tshuma was “overcome with rage” and handed a knobkerrie he was carrying to his wife before picking a log, which he used to strike the woman six times all over her body until she collapsed.
“The accused left the deceased lying down and proceeded to Inyathi Police station where he surrendered himself to the police,” Tshabalala said.
A post-mortem report showed that the woman died due to “severe brain damage, skull bones fracture and head trauma.”
“A log which was used to assault the deceased had a height of 170 centimetres and weighed 1, 7 kilogrammes,” the prosecutor said, adding that Tshuma failed to exercise self-control.
“The accused was supposed to be aware of issues of self-control as he had been told by tsikamutandas four days before the incident and he could have attacked the deceased at that moment,” Tshabalala said.
“After two hits, the old woman asked why the accused was hitting her.
“The accused was not merciful and continued to hit the old woman until she died.
“The accused intentionally wanted to kill the deceased as no first aid was attempted on the deceased.”
Tshuma, through his lawyers, said a tsikamutanda from Gokwe had told him that the woman was bewitching him and sucking his blood.
The tsikamutanda cleansed his homestead because he could not sleep at night and had “strange visions.”
In his ruling, Justice Makonese said although Tshuma was manipulated by the tsikamutanda, he committed premeditated murder.
“The accused was a victim of manipulation by tsikamutandas, but loss of human life cannot be condoned,” the judge said.
“The murder was committed in aggravated circumstances, therefore, I find you guilty of contravening Section 47 of the Criminal (Codification) Act and thereby sentence you to 20 years in prison.
“There is a need for communities to seek amicable ways of solving issues, which involve bringing matters to community leaders and never taking the law to their own hands.”