A MUREHWA man, Elliot Rewu (38) has been caged 30 years for murdering his father in cold blood over witchcraft allegations.
In sentencing him, High Court judge Justice Tawanda Chitapi said Rewu deserved a death sentence but pardoned him for the sake of his mother.
Rewu fatally struck his 80-year-old father with an axe in 2019 at Manomano Village in Murehwa.
On the fateful day, the father intended to visit the court to seek a protection order against his son whom he accused of tormenting him.
The court heard Rewu always accused his parents of witchcraft, alleging they were causing misfortunes in his life.
His mother testified that, Rewu would come back home very drunk and start terrorising them saying that they should accompany him to consult prophets and n’angas.
“Instead of being an asset to the family as the first born, Rewu terrorised his parents to a point where he would beat up both of them, forcing them to consult prophets and n’angas because of his own beliefs and not their beliefs,” High court judge Tawanda Chitapi said.
“The case before the court is a difficult one for the court to consider what the appropriate sentence should be … if the court imposes a death penalty, Rewu’s death will add to the family tragedy,” said Chitapi.
Hence, Rewu was given a second chance to be part of the family again when he completes his 30-year prison sentence at Chikurubi Maximum prison.