A Zimbabwean man, 63, has been sentenced to 12 years in jail for killing a colleague with a metal bar over a water debt, says a report.
According to New Zimbabwe, Nicholas Takavarasha, a caretaker at a city property in Gweru, attacked his colleague Trevor Gezana, a car washer, with a metal bar after he failed to settle a water bill.
Takavarasha had demanded that Gezana pay his water bill before he could continue using the water in his car wash business. The deceased, however, promised to settle the debt the following day.
This did not go down well with the convicted murderer, as he rushed into his room and returned holding four metal pipes.
He tried to hit Gezana with one bar but missed after the latter ducked the blow.
Takavarasha delivered another blow that struck the deceased on the head, causing him to fall onto the ground.
“While [the] deceased was still lying on the ground unconscious, [the] accused delivered four more blows that landed on the elbow and back of the head,” prosecutors reportedly told the court.
Gezana died on the scene.
Realising what he had done, Takavarasha tried to kill himself with an unknown substance but failed. He was taken to a local hospital where he was kept under police watch, until his recovery.
He was later taken to prison, pending his sentencing.
Reports indicated that due to the southern African country’s water crisis, some enterprising Zimbabweans were cashing in by selling the much needed water.
Taps in large parts of the country run dry for several days in a week, including the capital Harare, as part of government imposed restrictions.
