A Muzarabani woman saw herself walking free after stabbing her husband in the stomach to death on (Valentine’s Day) 14 February last year. The couple is said to get themselves into a heated argument that resulted in violence before the woman stabbed his husband in the stomach.
Lackia Chirwa’s husband, Promise Mukombe, accused his wife of infidelity, and the accusation escalated to death threats. Mukombe constantly threatened to kill his wife Lackia before he started the violence. Once Mukombe started to physically impose himself on her 23 years old wife, she instantly took out a kitchen knife and stabbed his husband in the stomach. Mukombe lost his life, and the case was reported to the police and reached the High court.
The High Court ruling on the Valentine’s day scandalous case
The case happened around 11 pm during the night of the love day; Chirwa was already sleeping with her baby in the room. That’s when Mukombe arrived drunk, shouting at Chirwa whom she had previously threatened to kill, calling her a prostitute.
High Court judge Esther Muremba reached the verdict that Chirwa had acted in self-defence and she walked out free.
She ruled Chirwa had managed to satisfy the court that she acted in self-defence.
“The deceased was stabbed with the knife by the accused at a time when he was twisting her arm and biting her shoulder. She said she was in excruciating pain. Besides, the deceased had made it categorically clear that he wanted to kill her. In terms of s253, for the defence of self-defence to suffice, the harm caused by the accused must be caused to the attacker and not to an innocent third party. This is exactly what happened in this case. The accused stabbed the deceased, who was attacking her and no other person. The two of them and their small child were in the bedroom. The accused managed to satisfy all the requirements of the defence of the person. The accused is therefore found not guilty and acquitted,”
