Masvingo Bureau
A Gutu man was lucky to escape jail with a wholly suspended sentence after he bit off a patron’s finger following a dispute over 60 cents. Gulum Mukumba (31), who was employed as a barman at Mpandawana Growth Point, was given a wholly suspended one-year jail sentence after he was convicted of biting off a patron’s forefinger before spitting the chunk on the floor.
Gutu resident magistrate Mr Nyasha Vitorini on Monday convicted Mukumba of assault on his own plea of guilty.
He imposed a one-year term of imprisonment on condition he does not commit a similar offence in the next three years.
Agreed facts were that on July 1 this year Mukumba was at work at Mapondera Bottle Store at Dandira Business Centre in Mpandawana when Trymore Madododo (24) from a nearby suburb arrived for a beer drink.
While Madododo was drinking his beer Mukumba then quizzed him over a 60 cents debt for beer, which he claimed the former drank and had not paid for the previous day.
An altercation ensued between the two before Mukumba, who was behind the counter, grabbed Madododo’s right hand and bit off the forefinger.
Madododo with the help of other patrons picked up the chunk of his forefinger and used it as an exhibit to make a report at Gutu police station leading to Mukumba’s arrest.
Ms Agatha Gabriel appeared for the state.