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A MACHEKE man, who fatally axed his wife on allegations of infidelity, has been jailed for 35 years by the High Court in Harare.

Robert Tevedzayi of Village 3, Maryland Farm compound, told the court that he found his wife being intimate with another man on his bed.

He also used a hoe and an iron bar to finish off his wife, Ms Abigail Chindavata.

Tevedzayi, in his defence, argued that he was acting in self-defence since the woman and her lover were attacking him.

High Court judge Justice Amy Tsanga dismissed the defence as a fabrication.

He convicted Tevedzayi of murder with actual intent.

“The defence of self-defence against an attack by a phantom boyfriend is a fantasy of his imagination and cannot succeed,” said Justice Tsanga.

“His defence of intoxication was also not raised in his warned and cautioned statement and neither did it emerge in his defence outline.

“It was equally also an afterthought. The accused is, therefore, found guilty of murder with actual intent in terms of Section 47(1) (a) of the Criminal Law (Codification) and Reform Act.”

Justice Tsanga considered submissions made in mitigation and aggravation and concluded that 35 years’ imprisonment would do justice to the case.

“Indeed, the State rightly pointed out as aggravating that the woman died an extremely painful death,” she said. “Throughout the trial, the accused showed absolutely no remorse for his actions.

“A lengthy custodial sentence is called for to enable him to reflect on the impact of his actions for which at present, he shows absolutely no remorse.

“Accordingly, the accused is sentenced to 35 years’ imprisonment.”

Justice Tsanga bemoaned the rate at which couples were killing each other in the bedrooms.

“An increasing number of cases brought before the courts reveal that far too frequently, the bedroom has become a deadly environment for women as a result of men’s violent outbursts in the resolution of disputes,” she said. — Herald Reporter.