The ManicaPost
Tendai Gukutikwa Post Correspondent
FOUR Buhera brothers who murdered their father in cold blood, by burning him with molten plastics and roasting him on the fire with his hands and legs tied on a harrow will spent the next 20 years in prison after being convicted by a High Court judge.
John Chigayi (42), Joel Chigayi (29), Mathias Chigayi (26) and Blessing Chigayi (24) of Nhamo Village in Buhera had denied the murder charges when they appeared before High Court judge, Justice Charles Hungwe.
They were convicted of murdering their father, Sam Chigayi and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment.
Mr Malvern Musarurwa prosecuted.
Allegations were that on December 11, 2015, the four together with the deceased consulted a faith healer over family misfortunes.
The faith healer allegedly named Sam as the source of the family’s misfortunes. Sam was alleged to be in possession of charms that were stopping the progress of his children.
Upon returning home, the four allegedly grabbed their father and put him in his bedroom where they forced him to produce the charms, to which he did not.
They went further lit a bonfire, burnt plastic containers of opaque beer (scud) and dropped the molten plastics all over their father’s body, trying to force him to confess.
They tied both his hands and legs.
They force-marched Sam to a fire that they had lit in a nearby roofless house where they tied him on a harrow using a chain. They pushed him into the fire.
“They later force-marched him back into his bedroom and when his three wives came back from a political rally they had attended, they found Sam heavily burnt in his bedroom.
“Sam told his wives what had happened and his sons confessed, but they also threatened their mothers from taking him to the hospital. Sam died the following day from the burns,” said Mr Musarurwa.
The four were facing the charge of murder as defined in Section 47 (1) (a) or (b) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, Chapter 9:23.
In sentencing the brothers, Justice Hungwe, said it was sad that a life was lost because of the Chigayi brothers’ pre-planned malice and that their actions towards their own biological father were inhuman.
“The inhuman method that you used on your own father to construct false information is very shocking. It is very shocking that children will do that to their own parent, let alone anybody else,” said Justice Hungwe.
He termed their actions as heartless, brutal and callous.
Justice Hungwe further said, if they truly had believed that their father was a wizard and had charms that were bewitching the family, the brothers should have used traditional resolutions that are lawful.
