A menacing thug, notorious for terrorizing the Shamva community, including his own family members, through a string of criminal activities, has been handed a significant 19-year jail term for the brutal m_rder of a close friend. Tinotenda Mangenjani, aged 24, known locally as the ‘Bully of Shamva,’ was found guilty of fatally stabbing his friend during a violent altercation triggered by a missing pint of beer.
The chilling incident unfolded two years ago, after Mangenjani and the victim indulged in an all-day drinking session. What began as a seemingly innocuous gathering escalated into a tragic scuffle, culminating in the untimely demise of Mangenjani’s companion. Disturbingly, eye witnesses revealed that the convicted criminal had long cultivated a reputation for instilling fear in the Shamva vicinity, often resorting to brandishing knives and other weapons to intimidate the local population.
During the fatal confrontation, Mangenjani’s own brother helplessly watched the horrifying scene as the assailant callously butchered his defenceless friend. In a further display of his violent tendencies, Mangenjani also attacked a third party who attempted to intervene and restrain him. Although Mangenjani pleaded guilty to the offence, claiming self-defence against his friend’s aggression, High Court judge Justice Munamato Mutevedzi dismissed his defence, emphasizing that the court frowns at violent crime.
“The m_rder was a brazen attack on an innocent man who was peacefully enjoying his drink on the night in question.
“He is an acknowledged ruffian, a roughneck who instilled fear in those who knew his behaviour. His conduct brutalised that society. The police were, at the time this crime was committed, looking for the offender in connection with yet another crime he had allegedly committed,” ruled Justice Mutevedzi.
He said Mangenjani deserved the punishment and society needs to be protected from people like him.
“Absent the mitigating factors outlined in the guidelines coupled with the presence of the serious aggravation stated above, I find no basis to impose a sentence below the presumptive penalty. Instead I am compelled to go a little higher than that to illustrate how much the courts frown at violent crime.
“In the circumstances, the offender is sentenced to 19 years’ imprisonment,” said Justice Mutevedzi.
Source MyZimbabwe
