Arnold Njanji (27) of Majerimani area under Chief Nemangwe in Gokwe district who attacked and killed his elder brother Tafadzwa Njanji (29) in 2013 with a stool for allegedly disrespecting a village head and their mother, was sentenced to a wholly suspended two year-jail term by Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Francis Bere.
Arnold was initially facing murder but was convicted on a lesser charge of culpable homicide and sentenced to two years imprisonment which was wholly suspended for five years on condition that he does not within that period commit a similar offence. His brother died the following day on admission to Gokwe Hospital.
In passing the sentence, Justice Bere, Arnold lacked maturity at the time he committed the offence. Said Justice Bere:
This offence was committed in 2013 when the accused was a youthful offender and it is only being completed in 2017. The waiting period has been punishment on its own. There can be no doubt that the accused person overreacted but quite often we risk adopting too much of an armchair approach in these matters. This is one rare case where as a court we are unanimously convinced that mitigatory factors outweigh the aggravatory factors. We do not believe prison sentence is the only inevitable form of punishment. The accused is spared the agony of imprisonment and sentenced to two years in jail which is wholly suspended for five years.
More: Chronicle
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