S v Honzeri (CRB 133 of 2014; HH 741 of 2015) [2015] ZWHHC 741 (18 September 2015)

1 HH741-15 CRB No. 133/14 THE STATE versus TAEDZA HONZERI HIGH COURT OF ZIMBABWE MUSAKWA J HARARE, 24, 25, 26 & 30 September, 3, 7 & 8 October 2014 & 18 September 2015 Assessors: 1. Mr Gweme 2. Mr Tutani Criminal Trial B. Murevanhema, for the state F. Chauke, for the accused MUSAKWA J: The accused person pleaded not guilty to a charge of murder arising from a family dispute. The incident happened on 1 September 2009 at Honzeri village, Chinhoyi. It is alleged that the accused unlawfully and intentionally caused the death of Steven Honzeri by stabbing him on the upper chest with an okapi knife. The brief background to the matter is that a child within the Honzeri family fell ill and subsequently died. It was believed that the child had been bewitched. Consultations with healers and prophets led to this conclusion. It was suggested that a cleansing ceremony be conducted. Within the Honzeri family are two spirit mediums. On the fateful day a delegation that included one medium arrived from Karoi. The medium got possessed and whilst in that trance he headed to the home of Everson Honzeri. The medium sought to induce Everson Honzeri to also get possessed. In the process Everson Honzeri was manhandled. Word got to the accused who is Everson Honzeri’s son. The accused rushed home where he interposed and struck Knowledge Honzeri the medium. In the ensuing commotion the accused is alleged to have attacked the deceased and his brother with a knife. The deceased tried to pursue the accused but he collapsed after a short distance. He was carried home where he died. In his defence outline the accused states that he received a message to the effect that his father was being threatened for refusing to have the home cleansed. When he rushed HH741-15 CRB No. 133/14 home he found his father on the ground and under attack from Knowledge Honzeri, the deceased and others. The accused tried to restrain the deceased and Knowledge who were more belligerent. The group turned against the accused and started to assault him. Sensing danger the accused pulled out a knife and stabbed the deceased once in the chest. He then wrestled with Nixon Honzeri. The deceased tried to chase after the accused but he collapsed. Thus the accused acted in defence of himself and his father since they were under attack. From the evidence led it is common cause that the accused spent the day at his tuck shop. He sold an assortment of goods including opaque beer which it was said he would also imbibe. Within the Honzeri family Knowledge and Everson are known to be spirit mediums. Everson is regarded as the elder of the family. Knowledge who resides in Karoi was sent for. There appears to be a rift regarding why Knowledge was summoned. State witnesses were of the view that they had agreed with Everson to engage a traditional healer. Even though that healer was identified he never got to perform the intended rituals. It is also clear that there was a rift amongst the Honzeris. The rest of the family claimed that Everson’s family declined to participate in the ritual. On the other hand Everson’s family claimed that they were not consulted. The initial discussion centred on bringing a traditional healer. This was discarded in favour of a spirit medium. This explains why Knowledge was summoned from Karoi. Upon Knowledge’s arrival a group set out for Everson’s home. The group comprised Knowledge, Nixon, Etony, Charles, Stewart and Doubt. Everson was at his old home. When Everson arrived after being summoned, he demurred with what was being sought to be done. The whole episode happened at night. Nixon testified that Knowledge tried to engage Everson to get possessed. Then he just saw the accused arrive at the scene. Nixon was very defensive in his testimony. He disputed that Everson was ever attacked. Nevertheless he stated that Everson screamed. He then tried to calm him. Everson called out to his son Devine to inform the accused that he was under attack. Nixon was of the view that Everson thought that he was under attack. He attributed this to their numbers. When the accused arrived Knowledge was talking to Everson. The rest of them were standing close by. He stated that none of them was possessed. HH741-15 CRB No. 133/14 Nixon had no clear recollection of how he was injured. According to him, he was stabbed on the upper left arm. He showed the court the resultant scar. He stated that he realised that he had been injured when they were attending to the deceased. Others then also noticed that he had been injured. After the deceased was injured he tried to follow the accused for about fifty metres before he collapsed. Under cross-examination he conceded that he is the one who led the group to Everson’s home. They had not consulted Everson prior to paying him the visit. Everson had his locks of hair cut on the orders of Chief Mudzingu. It was believed that goblins resided in the hair. The situation improved after this incident. This is because incidences of illnesses had declined. When the accused arrived at the scene he just stabbed without saying anything. The witness explained that the accused should not have acted without first establishing what was taking place. Further explaining how he was injured he stated that the accused hurriedly passed by him and he then realised that he had been injured. In further explaining the background to the feud, Nixon stated that a child of his uncle, Stewart had spent three years without talking. The child died five months before the incident. The child was never taken to a clinic despite there being one within the village. No post-mortem examination was conducted. Another brother of the deceased, Etony Honzeri testified that the deceased is the one who was sent to bring Knowledge. This followed a decision by the family, minus Everson’s participation. Everson’s family was believed to be the source of the problems. In addition, Everson’s family refused to contribute bus fare for deceased to go to Karoi. Apart from confirming other details stated by Nixon, Etony also stated that upon arrival from Karoi, Knowledge got possessed. Knowledge and others then left for Everson’s home whilst Knowledge was in a trance. Etony followed behind. Everson was already asleep as he had been drinking. Knowledge’s singing caused Everson to wake up. Etony’s arrival at Everson’s new home coincided with that of Everson. Knowledge had arrived earlier. This means that Etony could not have witnessed how Everson left his old home. Everson then attacked Knowledge with a walking stick. Etony attributes this conduct to Everson’s drunkenness. Everson and Knowledge fell to the ground after Knowledge grabbed the walking stick. Knowledge then invoked the spirits to possess Everson. HH741-15 CRB No. 133/14 Devine went to call the accused. When the accused arrived he picked up some stones. When he got closer he dropped the stones. At that stage Knowledge and Everson were seated, with Knowledge grabbing Everson. When the accused got to where the two were he struck Knowledge with a fist. Knowledge did not react. When they sought to intervene the accused advanced towards them. Since it was dark they were not aware that the accused was armed with a knife. The accused advanced towards the deceased whom he prodded. He did the same with Nixon. None of the victims raised alarm. Instead, the deceased tried to pursue the accused. He did so for a short distance and sat down. After they carried the deceased home they realised that he had been injured on the throat. That is when they also realised that Nixon had also been injured. Concerning Everson, the witness stated that initially he was co-operative but he subsequently demurred. The idea behind Everson and Knowledge getting possessed was for them to establish through the spiritual realm how the cleansing was to be conducted. During cross-examination he stated that when they followed Knowledge he was not aware that he was going to Everson’s home. When Everson s