Man kills old madala for speaking in English
A 21-year-old man was sentenced to 21 years in prison for fatally assaulting an elderly man for speaking in English.
High Court Judge, Justice Lucy Mungwari reached a guilty verdict following a lengthy trial. The man in question, named Anyway Pondo, faced charges alongside Keith Matenena who was acquitted at the end of the State’s case.
21-Year-Old Denies The Charges Claiming Mistaken Identity
The victim, Langton Mandibvira, was walking close to Southlawn Park School on June 13, 2021, conversing in English, according to the court records.
This infuriated Pondo, who reacted angrily by repeatedly kicking Mandibvira on the gravel road with his booted feet. The old man died as a result of the vicious attack.
Mandibvira was brutally abandoned on the road by Pondo, who then fled the area. The man was eventually taken to a hospital for treatment, but as his health deteriorated, he tragically died on June 27, 2021, from his wounds.
Pondo, who was 18 at the time, adamantly disputed the claims throughout the trial, alleging mistaken identity.
He stated that he had never met or known the deceased during his entire life. Pondo claimed that on that fateful day, he was at Southlawn Farm, where he worked as a bricklayer, putting away bricks and tools.
The prosecution, on the other hand, produced a compelling eyewitness statement from a youngster, which resulted in Pondo’s conviction.
Key Witness Testimony Leads to Conviction
The young witness was highly reliable in the eyes of the judge, who believed his statement to be fully honest. Even when recounting particular specifics, the witness admitted to having moments of hesitation.
Based on a past encounter and the accused’s close relationship to Keith, the eyewitness was confident in his ability to identify the accused. The witness was so familiar with Keith that when he told the elders about the attack, he particularly mentioned seeing Keith and another attacker viciously assault the deceased.
“The child witness struck us as very credible. We hold that view because there are instances when he clearly said he did not know some things. He never sought to supplement that with falsehoods. We believed his narrative that he did not only manage to identify the accused but recognised him from an earlier encounter and from his association with Keith who he knew so well that when he reported the assault to the elders he told them that he had seen Keith and another man assaulting the deceased. The witness demonstrated that he had no motive to lie against the accused particularly because he wasn’t really known to him. He was however certain that he had seen the accused viciously assaulting the ‘English speaking deceased and being restrained by Keith,” said the judge.
Ms Machanzi, the accused’s counsel, contended that Pondo, as a first-time offender and only 18 years old at the time of the offence, should be treated leniently due to his immaturity as a young offender in an attempt to lessen the harshness of the sentence.
The judge, however, made it quite plain that such general mitigating considerations would only be considered if the court did not consider the murder to be aggravated.
The judge emphasised the attack’s unrelenting ferocity, emphasising that the accused left the victim with no prospect of survival.
