A 14 year old boy from Nyamandlovu in Matabeleland North almost froze to death after his uncle tortured and locked him in a deep freezer.
The 28-year-old man pleaded guilty to the charge when he appeared before Bulawayo Magistrate Maxwell Ncube last Wednesday.
He was remanded out of custody to February 28 on US$100 bail. The court heard that on February 11 at 7pm the boy was sitting with his siblings inside a house when his uncle arrived from a beer drink.
He grabbed his nephew by the collar and slapped him several times on the face using open hands without an explanation.
He later emptied the deep freezer, and forced him inside and placed a heavy object on top and went out.
The boy managed to get out of the deep freezer after some time and reported the matter to the police in Nyamandlovu. The uncle told the court that he was drunk when the incident took place.
“I was drunk when the incident took place and I would like to apologise for what I did,” he submitted.
“I didn’t mean to hurt my nephew.”