A man from Makonde was lucky to escape a jail sentence after the Magistrate presiding over his case ordered him to perform 420 hours of community service.

Evans Ntazi (38) of Kachere Village Mukohwe was recently arrested after he stabbed his wife Miriam Moses (34) over lobola payment.

He was arraigned before Chinhoyi provincial magistrate Lisa Mutendereki charged with two counts of Domestic Violence.

Ntazi pleaded guilty to both charges.

It is in the States case that on the 28th of February, 2021,  Ntazi and his wife were at their in-laws’ house at Chitemerere Village to witness lobola payment by another son-in-law.

After the lobola ceremony was over, Ntazi went on to demand that she gives him some of the money she got from the lobola ceremony but she turned down his request.

This did not go down well with Ntazi who went on to assault his wife by dragging her by the collar, stabbing her three times with a knife, once on the left knee, upper left arm, and once on the head.

She sustained some injuries on her left arm and head leading to the arrest of the accused and subsequent appearance in court by the accused.

According to H-Metro, on the first count, Ntazi was sentenced to 12 months in prison and another 10 months for the second count.

He was sentenced to a total of 22 months in prison, however, Magistrate Mutendereki suspended the first 10 months for five years of good behavior.

A further 12 months was also suspended on condition he performs 420 hours of community service at Mukohwe clinic.

Gender-based Violence

Gender-based violence is on the rise in Zimbabwe,  especially violence against women and girls. According to the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwean women are no strangers to gender-based violence as, over the decades, they have suffered all sorts of abuse including rape, forced marriage, torture, and death at the hands of their male counterparts.

Gender-based violence is not just about domestic violence but it actually  encompasses a wide range of abuses that range from sexual threats, exploitation, humiliation, assaults, molestation, domestic violence, incest, involuntary prostitution, torture, insertion of objects into genital openings to attempted rape

Many advocacy and rights groups have been working to explore ways of raising awareness in the hope of curbing gender-based violence. However, despite these efforts, reports still point to a rise in cases of gender-based crimes across the country.