Wife of policeman stabs pregnant “SIDE-CHICK” in the Stomach
THE wife of a BSAP sergeant who discovered that her husband was having an affair with another woman spent a month finding out who she was, then stabbed her in the stomach.
The woman was pregnant at the time but did not lose her child.
The wife, Primrose Matawu, herself a pregnant mother of five, was convicted at the Magistrates’ Court here yesterday of assaulting the “other woman” with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Magistrate Mr A. D. Huggins fined her $60 (or 60 days) and imposed a 60-day suspended sentence.
Matawu said she would have to take care of the complainant and her child and “I am prepared to do that”.
Matawu pleaded not guilty, saying the stabbing was accidental. She had meant to frighten the complainant with the knife, which she had found in the shop where the complainant worked.
But later, in cross examination, she said: “I went there with the intention of stabbing her. I just could not control my temper.”
Mr Huggins said he could not say her anger was unreasonable. She was angry when she saw the woman who had come between her and her husband, but the provocation did not justify her actions.
“I do not want it to be thought the court condones the use of knives in settlement of differences, domestic or otherwise,” he said.
“I am influenced by your domestic circumstances. You have five children who have nothing to do with the case.”
LESSONS FOR TODAY
There is need for couples to remain faithful to each other because crimes of passion are on the rise the world over, precipitated by the high rate of infidelity in marriages.
It is imperative to control one’s temper when confronting someone who would have wronged you. People should desist from taking the law into their own hands. The new marriages law – Marriages Act Chapter 5:15 has provisions on how such matters can be handled under law.
The woman in the story may not have gone to the extreme of stabbing her rival had she taken someone with her for the confrontation.
Violence is not the best way of resolving issues; it actually leads to more problems. The woman in the story was the one who was hurt emotionally by her husband’s cheating, but she could have gone to jail because she chose to let her anger get the better of her.
People should learn to talk about issues in a civilised manner and to always address problems with counsellors. The accused in the story decided to go and deal with her husband’s mistress and not with her husband, which is misnomer.
BSAP which stood for British South Africa Police, became the Zimbabwe Republic Police after Independence in 1980.
