A 27-YEAR-OLD Mwenezi man was left nursing severe facial burns after he was scalded with hot porridge by his wife after he found her sexually entertaining another man in their rented apartment.
The incident occurred last week at number 123 NRZ Stands, Rutenga, in Mwenezi around 9pm when Caesar Rutanhira arrived home unexpectedly and found his wife Alfina Zhou (24) entertaining another man at their house.
Alfina appeared in court on Thursday and was convicted on her own plea of guilty to charges of physical abuse as defined in section 3 (1)(a) as read with section 4 (1) of the Domestic Violence Act Chapter 5:16.
She appeared before Masvingo magistrate, Mrs Dorothy Mwanyisa, sitting on circuit at the Mwenezi district magistrate’s court and was sentenced to 10 months of which four were suspended for five years on condition she does not commit a similar offence. The remaining six months were suspended on condition she performs 210 hours of community service at Rutenga Clinic.
Agreed facts as presented by the prosecutor, Mr Zibusiso Mnkandla, were that sometimelast week Alfina invited her lover to the house that she was sharing with her husband Rutanhira under the pretext that he was away that night.
While they were locked up in the house, Rutanhira arrived and knocked on the door. It, however, took some time for Alfina to open the door and this did not go down well with Rutanhira who could hear people murmuring and speaking in hushed voices in the house. Rutanhira’s incessant knocking later got some response when Alfina went to the door and opened before firing her husband with questions as to where he had been and what he wanted at home when he had said he would not be available for the night.
Rutanhira inquired about who was in the house, and tried to push past Alfina who was standing in the doorway blocking him from entering the house. A heated argument ensued that degenerated into pushing and shoving as Rutanhira tried to gain entry into the house.
Mr Mnkandla told the court that it was at that time that Alfina took a pot full of hot porridge and poured it on her husband who sustained serious facial burns before she ran away and disappeared in the thick of the night.
Rutanhira was taken to Neshuro Hospital where he was treated and discharged while Alfina was later arrested. She confirmed she had a boyfriend in the house when Rutanhira arrived. She said she was no longer in love with him although they lived in the same house.