A 43-year-old Zimbabwean man has appeared in court for killing his ex-girlfriend and her niece by setting alight a room they were sleeping in using petrol, a report says.
The incident occurred in Gweru’s Ascot suburb.
According to Zimbabwe’s state-owned Chronicle newspaper, Garikayi Zvawanda said he had suspected his ex-girlfriend Sibanda Nancy Loraine Sibanda was with another man.
Sibanda and her niece Cynthia Hlabangana were sleeping when Zvawanda allegedly poured 9 litres of petrol in their room before setting it ablaze.
The two suffered severe injuries and were admitted at a local hospital. They later succumbed to the burns on December 4 and 6 respectively.
Garikayi Zvawanda pleaded not guilty to the charge, saying he was not responsible for his actions as he was drunk when he committed the crime.
“I have a serious problem which started in 2014… that whenever I drink beer I lose my mental faculties,” Zvawanda was quoted as saying.
Last year a 19-year-old man in Zimbabwe’s Bulilima district was charged with attempted murder and malicious damage to property after he set alight his girlfriend’s hut, accusing her of infecting him with sexually transmitted diseases.
Victor Mpofu appeared at the Plumtree magistrate’s court after he allegedly burnt down his girlfriend Mercy Ndlovu’s hut.
Ndlovu, however, denied the allegations.
