A man in Itezhi- Tezhi District who poured hot water on his ex-wife and baby has been sentenced to five years in prison with hard labour.
Webby Shamatwi, 32, of Kabanda village in Banamwaze area in Chilyabufu chiefdom in Itezhi -Tezhi was found guilty and convicted by Itezhi- Tezhi magistrates Watson Mweemba on two counts of assault.
In the first count Shamatwi was charged with assault occasioning bodily harm, contrary to section 248 of the penal code chapter 87 of the laws of Zambia.
Particulars of the offence were that Webby Shamatwi on 30th August, 2023 in Itezhi – Tezhi, assaulted Anna Kapanda thereby occasioning her bodily harm.
In count two, Shamatwi is charged with assault on a child under section 248A of the Penal Code, Chapter 87 of the laws of Zambia.
Particulars of the offence are that Shamatwi on the same day in Itezhi – Tezhi, did assault a child namely Mercy Kapanda thereby occasioning her actual bodily harm.
The two were left with severe burns and were hospitalised for weeks in Itezhi – Tezhi District Hospital.
The facts were that Anna Kapanda went to fetch water from the stream and on her way back home, she met Webby Shamatwi, who happened to be her ex- lover, and after passing each other, he stopped and called her, he asked her why she did not greet him, and the Kapanda proceeded.
On the same day, around 19:00 hours, Shamatwi paid a visit to Kapanda at her home, sat outside and began passing comments indicating that he wanted to kill someone, the complainant ignored him, and Shamatwi took the pot of hot water that was boiling on fire and poured it on the Kapanda who was carrying Mercy Kapanda, a three-year-old child.
In count two, the complainant mercy Kapanda, aged 3 years of the same address, was at the back of her mother, Anna Kapanda, who is the complainant in count one, on the material day, and the child sustained burns as indicated on the medical report form.
The incident was reported to the Itezhi-Tezhi police station, and the accused was arrested.
During mitigation, Shamatwi sought forgiveness from the court.
When sentencing him, magistrates Watson Mweemba stated that Gender Based Violence was a serious crime that was common in Itezhi-Tezhi and advised women not hesitate to report all GBV cases to Police.
“The government is spending a lot of money on GBV issues, so there is a need to punish perpetrators,” Magistrates Mweemba said.
He then imposed a three-year sentence with hard labor for the first count and a five-year sentence with hard labor for the second offence, both of which will run concurrently and with effect from the day he was arrested.
