Cuthbert Mpami, the former Zvishavane-Runde legislator, and his farm manager, Lloyd Sibanda, have pleaded not guilty to culpable homicide charges after the tragic death of a seven-year-old boy mauled by dogs at Skey Farm in Norton. They appeared before magistrate Clever Tsikwa to present their defense.
Mpami and Sibanda shifted blame onto the child’s guardians, accusing them of negligence for allowing the child to venture out at night. They asserted their lack of personal knowledge about the circumstances surrounding the child’s death, emphasizing that neither of them was present at the scene. Sibanda had spent the entire day working in the fields, while Cuthbert Mpami was in Harare, where he resides.
According to their account presented in court, the child’s body was discovered on a footpath leading to the compound.
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They learned that the child had been sent by his grandmother to fetch water, despite a longstanding instruction or prohibition issued by Sibanda against fetching water at the farmhouse during daytime before 1600 hours, due to the absence of personnel.
The defense outlined that the community, including the child’s guardians, was well aware of this instruction. Additionally, the child’s grandfather, who previously worked for Sibanda as a night guard at the farm, was familiar with the routine and the presence of guard dogs on the premises.
The defense emphasized that despite knowing about the unfriendly nature of one of the dogs, which was kept tied on a leash until evening, the child’s guardians recklessly sent him to fetch water alone. This decision, they argued, directly contributed to the tragic incident.
