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Mashudu Netsianda Senior Court Reporter
A BEITBRIDGE woman with a history of mental illness stoned her 82 year-old aunt to death accusing her of killing her children through witchcraft. Thina Ndou, 72, of Chikwerengwe village had defaulted on her medication at the time of committing the crime. She pounded her aunt’s head with a stone while the elderly woman was sleeping.

Bulawayo High Court Judge Justice Maxwell Takuva yesterday ruled that Ndou could not be held legally responsible for her actions as she was mentally defective at the time of committing the crime. He ordered Ndou to be confined to Mlondolozi Mental Institution for further examination as she was a danger to society.

Justice Takuva retained a special verdict of not guilty to a murder charge because of insanity in terms of section 29 (2) of the Mental Health Act. “Ndou has been examined by doctors and assessed by clinical psychologists whose findings are that she shouldn’t be held liable for her conduct. It’s common cause that Ndou was suffering a mental illness when she committed the crime.

“Although the court isn’t bound by the psychiatric reports, we’re satisfied that Ndou was mentally defective and the court retains a special verdict of not guilty in terms of section 29 (2) of the Mental Health Act,” ruled Justice Takuva.

Ndou, who was clad in prison garb, yesterday appeared normal throughout the court proceedings as she gave coherent responses. She was 68 years old when she committed the gruesome murder. According to the statement of agreed facts presented by Sifiso Ndlovu-Sibanda, on December 12, 2011, Ndou paid Madilonga Muleya a visit and she asked her aunt to offer her a place to sleep overnight.

The court heard that Ndou who was sleeping with her aunt in the hut woke up in the middle of the night and crushed Muleya’s head with a stone. Muleya died on the spot after she sustained a depressed skull fracture and brain damage. Ndou waited until the following morning when she notified other relatives of what she had done. A report was made to the police leading to Ndou’s arrest.

In the period between January 8, 2014 and November 15, 2014, Ndou was examined by psychiatrists at Mlondolozi Mental Institution and they concluded that there was reasonable possibility that at the time of the crime, she was disoriented and suffered from chronic schizophrenia and cognitive impairment related to age.