BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI
A Victoria Falls landlord narrowly escaped death after she was strangled by her tenant for demanding overdue rentals.
The tenant Qondisani Nyathi (31) from Chinotimba high density suburb appeared before Victoria Falls magistrate Linda Dzvene on Tuesday facing assault charges over the September 26 attack.
Prosecutor Asher Chindedza said on the day Happiness Tshuma, who lived in the same house with Nyathi, demanded her money.
The tenant told Tshuma that he did not have the money to pay her.
“A misunderstanding arose resulting in the complainant grabbing the accused’s washing basket intending to throw it outside the house, and that did not go well with the accused who went on to grab the complainant by her neck choking her,” Chindedza said.
The prosecutor did not say how Tshuma managed to escape from her attacker, but it was revealed that after she regained her consciousness, she reported the matter to the police.
According to a doctor’s medical report, Tshuma was at risk of suffering permanent disability due to the injuries she suffered in the attack.
Nyathi told the court that he attacked Tshuma to save his property.
Dvene sentenced Nyathi to six months and three of them were suspended on condition that he pays a $10 000 fine.
The remaining three months were suspended on condition that he does not commit a similar offence in the next five years.