A 79-year-old Kwekwe man has been slapped with a four-month jail term for failing to control a fire which went on to burn a nearby TeleCash booth, destroying property worth thousands of dollars.
Juaki Smart of House Number 21 Rusununguko Road in Redcliff, was doing land preparation and burning maize shrubs in his field when he failed to control the fire which went on to burn down the booth which was only a few metres away.
He was arrested and arraigned before Kwekwe magistrate Mr Tayengwa Sangster facing charges of negligently causing serious damage to property.
Mr Sangster sentenced him to four months imprisonment before he suspended the sentence on condition that Smart restitutes a total of $3 185,60 before 30 October 2019. The State proved that on 13 August this year along Rutendo Road near Chemhere Business Centre, Smart was doing land preparation in a field.
The fire which he was using to burn the shrubs in his field however, ended up being blown by wind thereby burning a TeleCash booth belonging to Ms Caroline Mushayandebvu. Ms Mushayandebvu reported the matter to the police leading to the arrest of the man.
Meanwhile, a Kwekwe man has been slapped with a three-year jail term for allegedly kidnapping and assaulting a rival following a wrangle involving mining explosives.
Honest Mandiku (24) in company of two others, James Mpofu, Clifford Phiri and Bekhithemba Sicha, who are still at large, allegedly bundled Mr Zivanai Kamunhukamwe into an unregistered vehicle before they took him away and tortured him before dumping him by the roadside.
Mandiku appeared before Kwekwe magistrate Mr Storey Rushambwa facing kidnapping or unlawful detention and assault charges and was sentenced to 36 months in prison.
Mandiku will however, serve an effective 24 months behind bars after Mr Rushambwa suspended 12 months on condition of good behaviour.
Prosecuting, Mr Freddy Ndoro proved that on 4 May this year around 12pm, at Blackman compound, Mandiku and three other accused who are still at large, approached the complainant who was drinking beer at a bar in Amaveni.
The gang then accused the complainant of stealing their mining explosives and slapped him on the face before they manhandled him and forced him into the back-seat of an unregistered blue Toyota Mark 2 vehicle before they sped off.
They then drove, the court further heard, to Zesa Mine in Kwekwe, approximately five kilometres outside Kwekwe Central Business District without the complainant’s consent.
Upon arrival, Mandiku allegedly hit the complainant with an iron bar twice on the back and other accused persons also assaulted him all over the body with open hands, forcing him to agree that he had indeed taken the explosives despite him having no knowledge of their whereabouts.
They then bundled him back into the car and sped off before dropping him at Gokwe turn-off.
The complainant was discovered by passersby drenched in blood and ferried him to Kwekwe General Hospital where he was treated and discharged.
From the beatings, Mr Kamunhukamwe sustained injuries on the right arm, leg, knee and suffered backache.
-State Media