Malawian man gets 7 years jail for cutting off his wife's fingers

The Balaka Second Grade Magistrate Court has sentenced a 59-year-old man to seven years imprisonment with hard labour for chopping off his wife fingers in jealousy row.

The woman will have to live with permanent disfigurement.

The suspect William Duwa who resides at Mangerengere location in Balaka Township chopped off his wife two fingers on 6th January, 2013 after accusing her of having a secret love affair.

The incident happened when Duwa left home for a drinking spree and upon arrival home he started accusing his wife Chrissy Kunkeyani 49, of having a secret love affair then started beating her and later chopped off her two fingers with a Panga knife and escaped leaving her in a pool of blood.

Jealousy husband chops wife fingers

After the incident the suspect had been in hiding until last week end when Police arrested him following a tip off from the public.

Balaka police spokesperson Joseph Sauka told Nyasa Times that the suspect pleaded guilty to the offence.

“In mitigation, he asked the court to forgive him saying he has a family and five children to look after but police prosecutor Constable Christopher Nyirongo quashed aside his mitigating factor saying cases of gender based violence are becoming rampant in the district and the whole country and the disfigurement caused to the victim is permanent hence the need to give him a stiffer sentence.”

Passing judgement on Thursday, Sauka says, Second Grade Magistrate Maxwell Boaz agreed with Nyirongo that cases of gender based violence are becoming rampant in the country hence the need to give offenders stiffer sentences.

“He said men should learn to love and respect their wives not to torture them and asked members of the general public public to join hands in the fight against gender based violence by reporting perpetrators to police,” said Sauka.

William Duwa comes from Chauluka village, Traditional Authority Nsamala in Balaka district while the victim Chrissy Kunkeyani comes from Kambuku village, Traditional Authority Kwataine in Ntcheu district.

In another development,Police were  hunting for a man who allegedly chopped off his wife’s arm and leg following a family dispute. The woman was pronounced dead on arrival at the Dowa District Hospital  following loss of blood.

Mponela Police spokesperson Kondwani Kandiado  identified the suspect as 47-year-old Henry Agabu Vunga of Mwamcheka Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Dzoole in Dowa while the woman has been identified as Tikhala Benson of Mbiya Village.

The attack is reminiscent of an incident in 2006 in the same Dowa district, when an irate husband, Herbert Mankhwala, cut off both arms of his wife, Marietta Samuel. However, the wife survived the attack. The husband went to jail.

 

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