A senior member of the Zimbabwe National Army Colonel Chance Mkhwananzi has appeared in court facing charges of assaulting his wife after he accused her of cheating on him with a worker at the couple’s mine.

So furious was Mkhwananzi that he slammed his wife head first into a wall and she fell unconscious.

Mkhwananzi appeared before Western Commonage Court magistrate Jeconia Prince Ncube where he pleaded guilty to physical abuse charge as defined in section 3 (1) (a) as read with section 4 (1) of the Domestic Violence Act chapter 5:16.

He may have been spared jail agony when he was fined $25 000, payable by 1 January next year. If he fails to pay, he will be jailed for four months.

In arriving at the sentence the magistrate took into consideration the fact that Mkhwananzi was a first- time offender and that a non-custodial sentence like community service was also not appropriate for him since he would be needed at work.

The court heard that while Mkhwananzi was with his wife and children at their home in Gwabalanda suburb, his wife received a phone call from one of their mine workers named Arnold Sibanda.

Mkhwananzi got suspicious and accused his wife of cheating on him with Sibanda.

The court heard a misunderstanding ensued between the two parties and at the height of the dispute Mkhwananzi punched his wife several times.

As if that was not enough he went on to smash her head against the wall. As a result of the savage attack his wife bled profusely and became unconscious. —B Metro