A 43-year-old Chipinge man has been arraigned before the courts on murder charges after he reportedly assaulted his brother’s son with a log following a heated argument.

Zaphania Muyambo appeared before Mutare High Court judge Justice Hlekani Mwayera and pleaded not guilty.

He said he had no intention of killing his nephew, Joel, arguing that he had struck him in self-defence during a heated argument.

The trial was postponed to June 27, 2019.
State counsel Mr Jonathan Chingwinyiso heard that in October 2018, Zaphania went to his brother’s homestead and accused Joel of disrespecting his father by accusing him of being a wizard.

He slapped Joel and struck him with a log until he became unconscious. Joel was later taken to St Peters Hospital in Chipinge where he died on admission.

In his defence, Zaphania said he had a heated argument with his nephew after he assaulted him with a stick and called his father a wizard. He said he had used the log to strike Joel in self-defence. A relative, Etaso Muyambo testified that she saw the pair quarrelling on her way to the borehole and had unsuccessfully tried to restrain Zaphania from hitting Joel.State media