Court jails woman 12 months for stabbing 72-year-old husband with knife

A wife of Kabwata Site and Service in Lusaka has pleaded guilty for unlawfully injuring her 72-year-old husband with a knife.

Lusaka Magistrate, George Njobvu, sentenced Evelyn Koti, 53, to 12 months simple imprisonment but suspended the sentence for 24 months after taking into consideration her health challenges, which included among others , hearing impairment.

Koti was charged with one count of ‘unlawful injury’ contrary to Section 232 of the Penal Code Chapter 87 of the laws of Zambia.

The accused told the court that she used belts to unlawfully injure her husband, Joseph Mutale.

Facts are that on January 2, 2024 at around 11:00 hours, Mutale was watching television in his bedroom when his wife came from the kitchen and stabbed him in the head with a knife.

In mitigation, Koti through her lawyer, pleaded for leniency citing health challenges as she was involved in an accident in 2022 and damaged her right hand and leg and required physiotherapy.

She told the court that she had also a hearing impairment and would only communicate by lip reading.

Magistrate Njobvu said the offence attracted a three years sentence but had taken note of the convict’s remorse and health challenges.

“I sentence you to 12 months simple imprisonment but I suspend the sentence for 24 months,” he said.

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