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Mashudu Netsianda Senior Court Reporter
A PLUMTREE man who struck his teenage girlfriend with a claw hammer before attempting to commit suicide after accusing her of using juju to render him sexually impotent, has been sentenced to eight years in jail.

Nkosiyazi Mhlanga, 26, of Mphoengs, who was employed as a herdsman at Danaway Farm in Mangwe District, was convicted on his own plea of guilty to attempted murder by Bulawayo regional magistrate, Abednico Ndebele.

Mhlanga will serve an effective six years in jail after two years were suspended for three years on condition that he does not within that period commit a similar offence.

The court heard how Mhlanga pummelled his 17-year-old lover with a claw hammer after a prophet he had consulted over his erectile dysfunction problem told him that he was bewitched by the teenager.

In handing down sentence, Ndebele bemoaned the rate at which crimes of passion were being committed in Plumtree and called for stiffer sentences against offenders.

“It appears you went around having sexual intercourse with several women during which you discovered that you had an erection problem. You then decided to lay the blame on your girlfriend after a prophet hoodwinked you into believing that she was the one behind your erectile dysfunction. However, the court will certainly not believe that,” said Ndebele.

The magistrate said Mhlanga was a danger to society who deserved to be jailed. “It’s very clear that you were not happy after having been rendered sexually incompetent and decided to vent your anger by attacking the victim with a claw hammer.

“She suffered severe head injuries and skull lacerations resulting in her going into a coma. Looking at the manner in which you committed the crime and the weapon used, it’s clear that your intention was to kill her and therefore an appropriate punishment would be a prison term,” ruled Ndebele.

Prosecuting, Paida Zengeni said on April 21 this year shortly after 2PM, the victim and her friend, Beauty Nkomo, were on their way to Threestreams Plot carrying buckets of tomatoes when Mhlanga followed them on his bicycle.

The court heard that when he caught up with the two women, Mhlanga, who was armed with a claw hammer, confronted his girlfriend and started accusing her of bewitching him so that he could not perform in bed.

“Mhlanga ordered his girlfriend to put down the bucket but she refused. Mhlanga then struck her once on the right arm using a log and she fell down,” said Zengeni.

Sensing danger, Nkomo fled from the scene leaving her friend at the mercy of her boyfriend. The court heard that Mhlanga pounded the victim with his hammer several times as she lay helplessly on the ground until she lost consciousness.

Nkomo later returned in the company of other villagers and they apprehended Mhlanga as he was about to drink a cattle dip chemical. They took him to the police station leading to his arrest.

The victim was taken to United Bulawayo Hospitals.