Cynthia Dube, Court Reporter
A 22-YEAR-OLD woman from Cowdray Park suburb in Bulawayo has been sentenced to a wholly suspended three months in prison for sending messages to her ex-husband insulting and threatening to kill him.
Perseverance Ncube was arrested last week on Saturday after a 24-hour spree in which she continuously insulted her ex-husband, Mr Glen Wheeler (56), through WhatsApp messages.
Mr Wheeler, who has an 11 month-old-baby with Ncube, was granted a peace order against her because she is abusive.
According to the protection order, Ncube was ordered not to harass, hurt or insult Mr Wheeler.
Ncube appeared before provincial magistrate Mr Tinashe Tashaya facing a charge of contempt of court.
She pleaded guilty.
Ncube, through her lawyer Mr Bruce Masamvu of Dube-Tichaona and Tsvangirai Legal Practitioners, said she committed the offence out of anger.
“Ncube committed the offence out of provocation. The anger emanated from the complainant’s neglect of their minor child. She got married when she was 21 and Mr Wheeler left her,” said Mr Masamvu.
“May this court consider a wholly suspended sentence or an option of paying a fine when sentencing the accused person. She is a first offender and she knows that crime does not pay,” said the lawyer. Mr Tashaya said the court would not accept any justification for insulting Mr Wheeler.
In passing sentence, the magistrate said he had considered that Ncube is a first offender and she did not waste the court’s precious time as she pleaded guilty. “You are sentenced to a wholly suspended three months in prison without the option to pay a fine. The whole three months is suspended for five years on condition that you do not commit a similar crime,” he said.
Prosecuting, Miss Leanne Nkomo said on March 3, Ncube spent the whole day sending WhatsApp messages insulting her ex-husband.
Later in the evening she sent a message threatening to cause Mr Wheeler’s death thereby violating the protection order. “The complainant did not reply to any of the accused person’s messages. She was demanding money for rentals notwithstanding the fact that the complainant is paying maintenance for the said minor child,” said Miss Nkomo.
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