BY DESMOND CHINGARANDE HIGH Court judge Justice David Foroma yesterday sentenced a Bindura man, Brian Chikanya, to 20 years for murdering his girlfriend.
Sarah Munhu’s body was found lying on the roadside on the morning of August 11, 2017, a day after the gruesome murder.
In passing sentence, Justice Foroma said Munhu’s killing could not be justified under any circumstances.
“Every person has a right to the God-given gift of life which the Constitution of this country considers to be a fundamental right. Courts have an obligation to protect every person’s right and will always jealously guard that right,” Foroma ruled.
“A message should be sent to the offender and any like-minded persons that violence in this day and age of civilised human behaviour will not be tolerated no matter the circumstances. Crimes of passion are occurring much too often and are evidence of domestic violence, which courts will always frown upon.”
During trial, it emerged that Chikanya was having an affair with Munhu, but her children were not aware, and regarded him as their uncle.
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On the fateful day, Munhu went to Chikanya’s house and an altercation arose while they were in bed, resulting in Chikanya fatally assaulting her.
After killing her, he cleaned the house, and went to dump the corpse on the roadside. He went to Munhu’s homestead the following morning and took her children to the scene without disclosing what had happened.
The children only got to know that their mother had passed on when they got to where their mother’s body had been dumped.
But police booked him as their first suspect and Munhu’s footprints at Chikanya’s residence showed that she never left the residence alive leading to his arrest.
- Follow Desmond on Twitter@DChingarande1