A CHIPINGE man, who was released in 2023 after serving a 17-year prison term, has been condemned to life in jail for the murder of a maid.
The circumstances of the case are that on August 13, 2024, at Mbezuma homestead in Mukomba village under Chief Musikavanhu, Chipinge, a witness, William Sithole, was at home in the evening when he heard a groaning sound.
Sithole went to investigate and saw the convict, Fanuel Ndapota, coming out of the dining room holding a steel object.
Ndapota charged towards Sithole, who escaped into a spare bedroom and locked himself inside.
He later heard the footsteps of the accused running away.
Sithole later went to the dining room, which the now-deceased domestic worker Purity Mlambo used as a bedroom and saw her lying facing upwards on her bed breathing heavily, while bleeding from the right ear and mouth.
Sithole also noticed that the deceased’s pair of black jean trousers and pants were pulled to knee level.
He screamed for help and informed other locals.
- Chipinge man jailed for life for murder
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The young woman later succumbed to head injuries.
A pathologist concluded that the cause of death was subarachnoid haemorrhage and head trauma.
Ndapota was arrested near Save River.
He led the police for indications, resulting in the recovery of a bicycle axle and an Itel A56 cellphone.
Ndapota pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder and tendered a plea of guilty to culpable homicide.
In his ruling as he convicted Ndapota of murder, High Court judge Justice Isaac Muzenda said Mlambo suffered a painful death.
“The post-mortem report reflects that the now-deceased was viciously attacked and had head trauma and she died of haemorrhage,” Justice Muzenda ruled.
“The nature of injuries on the now-deceased show a deliberate and calculated attack of the now-deceased on a vulnerable part of the body.
“This was a vicious, callous and brutal attack on a defenceless woman.
“It is, therefore, our finding that from the totality of all the evidence placed before us by the State, there was clear intention to cause the deceased’s death.”
The judge said evidence also showed that the convict raped the deceased.
“As a result, it is our finding that the murder was committed in aggravating circumstances as provided for in terms of s47(2)(ii),” the judge ruled.
“The aggravatory factors far outweigh the mitigatory features. The only appropriate sentence is custodial. Accordingly, you are sentenced as follows, life imprisonment.”
