The fate of popular musician Chillmaster, real name Gift Hombarume, hangs precariously in the balance as the High Court prepares to scrutinise a controversial sentence that spared him immediate jail time for culpable homicide.
The musical artist, who tragically took a pedestrian’s life in Harare’s Hopely suburb, now faces the very real possibility of his freedom being snatched away.
Just last month, Magistrate Tatenda Mukurunge handed down a sentence that stunned many — a mere US$200 fine for driving without a licence and a two-year sentence for culpable homicide, with half of that term suspended.
This leniency, which allowed Hombarume to walk free on community service, is now under intense legal scrutiny.
Judge president Zimba-Dube is set to preside over a High Court review that will determine if “real and substantial justice” was truly served.
Magistrate Mukurunge’s original sentencing factored in Hombarume’s status as a first-time offender and his expressed remorse.
However, what reportedly tipped the scales decisively in his favour was an extraordinary plea from the victim’s own family.
They informed the court that Chillmaster had made significant undertakings to support them, including providing cattle to appease avenging spirits (ngozi), funding the deceased’s children's education, and supplying monthly groceries.
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As articulated by the magistrate during sentencing: “The family through Lucia Charumbira, said he has undertaken to pay some beasts to avoid avenging spirits”.
“He also undertook to send the deceased’s children to school and also to buy monthly groceries.”
Now, the High Court will weigh whether these compassionate efforts from the victim’s family, while commendable, should ultimately override the established legal principles for a crime that resulted in a fatality.
