Husband sentenced to death for killing his wife with a knife

KITWE High Court judge Chilombo Phiri has sentenced a man of Kalulushi’s Chambishi township to death for killing his wife by repeatedly stabbing her with a knife on different parts of the body.
Ms Justice Phiri sentenced Frank Sinkala on Wednesday after she found him guilty of murder.
She said there was no extenuating circumstances in the case to warrant an alternative sentence other than the mandatory death penalty for persons convicted of murder.
Particulars of the offence are that on February 28, this year, in Kalulushi, Sinkala allegedly murdered Catherine Kasenge.  He denied the charge.
In passing judgment, Ms Justice Phiri described the wounds suffered by the deceased as grave and horrific.
She said was satisfied that the prosecution had proved its case against Sinkala beyond reasonable doubt.
“There are no extenuating circumstances in this case. The accused person unlawfully stabbed the deceased. He should have known or ought to have known that his actions would cause death or grievous bodily harm,” Ms Justice Phiri said.
She added that Sinkala had malice aforethought when he stabbed Kasenge.
Ms Justice Phiri dismissed Sinkala’s defence as an afterthought which was devoid of logic.
In his defence, Sinkala told the court that when he arrived home from Nakonde, a friend to his wife allegedly informed him that his wife had an extra marital affair.
He further claimed that his wife’s lover allegedly spent nights at his home and that the two love birds planned to marry.
Prior to the incident, Sinkala and his wife had been on separation for four months as the former allegedly sold the latter’s plot without her consent and went away with the money.
Sinkala claimed that his wife’s alleged lover fought with him and attempted to stab him but on all four occasions, he missed the target and instead stabbed Kasenge.
“How come this mysterious man on four occasions kept missing target on the accused and only hit the deceased?”
“The accused is a pathological liar, who even lied on obvious facts such as where he was apprehended from,” Ms Justice Phiri said.
In mitigation, defence lawyer Nyambe Mukaya said Sinkala had left two children of a tender age.
“As already stated in my judgment, there are no extenuating circumstances in this case. I therefore sentence you to death. You shall be hanged until pronounced dead,” Ms Justice Phiri said.

Zambia Daily Mail