A 36-year-old deaf man from Eastview, Harare, who fatally attacked his uncle after a dispute involving a marriage proposal, has been sentenced to 420 hours of...
A 36-year-old deaf man from Eastview, Harare, who fatally attacked his uncle after a dispute involving a marriage proposal, has been sentenced to 420 hours of community service after the High Court found him guilty of culpable homicide, not murder.
Fanuel Masora received a 36-month prison sentence that was wholly suspended. The court ordered that he complete community service as part of the sentence. The ruling followed a case linked to the death of his uncle, Magijo Masora, in January 2014.
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The court heard that on January 5, 2014, in Eastview Phase 4, Harare, Masora struck his uncle four times on the head with a 2.2kg wheel spanner while the uncle was asleep. A post-mortem later found the cause of death to be polytrauma to the head and blunt force trauma.
After the attack, the court was told that Masora carried the body to an unfinished house about 17 metres away and cleaned bloodstains from the scene.
Masora, who was represented by lawyer Obey Shava, pleaded not guilty to murder. He instead admitted guilt to culpable homicide, arguing that he had been provoked and lost self-control.
His defence also argued that the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act had not been made available in sign language and had therefore not been properly brought to the notice of the deaf community.
The court heard that tension had developed over Masora’s former girlfriend, whom he loved and wanted to marry. On the afternoon before the killing, Masora, his uncle and the woman met to discuss problems in the relationship.
During that meeting, the uncle acted as a sign language interpreter. However, the court heard he spent more time speaking to the woman in Shona than communicating through sign language.
It was stated in court that the uncle told the woman that “the hearing and the deaf cannot be together.” Masora felt excluded from the discussion and became suspicious that his uncle was interested in the woman.
That night, after both men had gone to bed, Masora got up, collected the wheel spanner and attacked his uncle while he was sleeping.
Psychologist Professor Lincoln Hlatshwayo testified that communication barriers can affect how some deaf people understand and process issues. He told the court that Masora, a Form Two graduate, had the mental capacity of a Grade Three or Four learner.
High Court judge Justice Emilia Muchawa ruled that Masora did not have the intention to kill but acted after sudden provocation and total loss of self-control.
The judge referred to Section 239 of the Criminal Law Code, which provides that provocation can reduce a murder charge to culpable homicide if the accused acted without intention to kill due to the provocation.
Justice Muchawa said the uncle’s statement that “the hearing and the deaf cannot be together” became the focus of Masora’s anger and frustration built over many years.
“The accused is found guilty of culpable homicide as defined in Section 49 of the Criminal Law Code,” the judge ruled.
Masora was sentenced to three years in prison. One year was suspended on condition of good behaviour, while two years were suspended on condition that he performs 420 hours of community service.
The case has drawn attention to disability rights, communication barriers and access to justice for people living with hearing impairment in Zimbabwe.
