Sukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
AN enraged woman chopped her father in law’s bed to pieces with an axe and broke window panes at their home after being dumped by her husband.
Sibongile Nhliziyo (27) of Mphoengs area in Mangwe received a phone call from her husband who works in South Africa telling her to leave their matrimonial home, a court heard.

She instantly flew into a rage and broke seven windows, destroyed a kitchen unit and chopped a bed which belonged to her father-in-law, Edward Ncube, 66.

Plumtree magistrate, Livard Philimoni heard how Nhliziyo always felt that her in-laws were meddling in her marriage and decided to vent her anger on them by destroying their property.

He, however, gave a wholly suspended sentence after considering that she suffered rejection and the breakdown of her marriage.
“The court will be merciful on you on consideration that you are already suffering as you have been rejected by your husband. The experience of losing a husband is painful and it can cause someone to do terrible things out of rage,” Philimoni said.

“A rejected woman will suffer a moment of madness and your case is no exception. I would have given a person in a similar position as yours a community service sentence but you will be moving back to your parents’ home in Nkayi, which will make it difficult to administer the sentence.”

Philimoni said Nhliziyo should be punished for taking the law into her own hands and sentenced her to six months in prison, which were conditionally suspended.

Prosecuting, Medica Tshuma narrated how on February 1, Ncube was alerted by his son who works in South Africa that his daughter in law had threatened to destroy his property.

She said Ncube rushed home only to find his bed chopped with an axe and household property destroyed.
“Ncube inquired from his daughter-in-law who admitted to have destroyed the property following a misunderstanding with her husband,” Tshuma said.

Nhliziyo told the court: “I committed the offence because I was angry. My husband and his family had been ill treating me and I felt I had to teach them a lesson.

“I had just received a message from my husband telling me that he was separating from me and he did not want to find me in the house. I knew that my in laws had a hand in this as they have always meddled in our marriage.”

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