A 33-year-old man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for assaulting and killing his wife.
Edward Chizhombe received a 13-year prison term from High Court Judge Esther Muremba, but had 3 years suspended on the condition he behaves while in jail.
The judge said Chizhombe was ungrateful for his wife. “The accused was an ungrateful b0yfriend. His moral blameworthiness is very high,” Justice Muremba stated.
The prosecution proved that Chizhombe had assaulted his wife Catherine Masiye (45) on two consecutive days before she died on April 23. A post-mortem exam showed Catherine suffered head and abdominal trauma, hemorrhaging and had switches used to beat her severely.
However, Chizhombe denied ever assaulting Catherine and claimed her death was due to illness. He lied to the court, saying his wife had cancer.
Catherine’s mother Rosemary, 82, said she had accepted Chizhombe despite him not paying lobola (bride price). She said Chizhombe was in the habit of assaulting her daughter but did not confront him, not wanting to disturb the marriage.
