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Tanaka Mrewa, Court Reporter
A MAN from Bulawayo who assaulted a 60-year-old man that his hooker-wife had brought to their matrimonial home for sex, has been sentenced to four years in prison.

The man will however, perform 630 hours of community service after the sentence was conditionally suspended.

Qondani Moyo (24) pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and a magistrate charged him with a lesser offence of negligently causing bodily harm to another person.

Moyo said he lost his temper after he found his wife, Abigail Banda, whose age was not mentioned in court, having sex with Shadreck Sithole in a car at the gate of their house in Nkulumane 11 suburb.

Bulawayo Regional Magistrate Mrs Sibongile Msipa-Marondedze ruled that Moyo’s offence was not premeditated.

“Accused person was grossly provoked. His wife brought a client and had sex with him in a car outside her matrimonial house. He found her and complainant in the act of sex. Accused lost his temper and acted at the spur of the moment. He had no intention of murdering the complainant,” said Mrs Msipa-Marondedze.

The magistrate sentenced Moyo to a wholly suspended 48 months in jail.

“24 months will be suspended on condition of good behaviour for the next five years. The remaining 24 months will be suspended on condition that you perform 630 hours of community service at Nkulumane police station. Next time make sure that you don’t take the law into your own hands,” she said.

Banda’s testimony shocked the court as she shamelessly narrated how she and Moyo survived on money she made from prostitution.

“We live with my in-laws at home. My husband and I are not employed. It is this money that gets us by. He knows that I get money through prostitution. I usually take my clients away from home but on this day I had nowhere to take my client so I took him to our house,” said Banda.

“I got home and asked for condoms from Moyo. He gave them to me and I went back outside. I think he got jealous that I was with another man outside that’s why he came and attacked him.”

Sithole had a different story.

He told the court that Banda had hired him to drive her home and he charged her $10.

“I remained parked at the gate while Banda went into the house to collect the fare. I was tuning some music on my car radio when I heard something smashing my windows. I lost consciousness. When I woke up I was at the hospital,” he said.

The magistrate dismissed Sithole’s evidence saying it was incoherent.

“Complainant’s evidence is not credible. He lied to the court about why he was at Moyo’s gate. He said he lost consciousness after being hit with a stone and went on to say his wife called an ambulance.

“This court doesn’t understand how he could have driven home in an unconscious state,” said Mrs Msipa-Marondedze.

Moyo said he bashed Sithole due to extreme provocation.

“I saw a car parked by my gate. I peeped through the window and saw my wife having sex with another man. I picked a stone and smashed the car window out of anger.”

Prosecuting, Miss Caroline Matanga said on December 17 last year at around 4AM, Moyo struck Sithole, a fire and ambulance attendant, several times with stones on the head.

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