Panashe Mpofu, a woman from Bulawayo, was recently let out of prison. She had been put there for two years because she disciplined some teenagers, including her own kid, for having a Vuzu party when they should've been in school.
It all happened in the Luveve suburb. Ms. Mpofu caught the teenagers, who were only in Form Two, throwing one of these Vuzu parties. Those parties are bad news - they're known for underage drinking, drug use, and risky sex. Teenage girls can end up with STIs or getting pregnant when they don't want to.
Ms. Mpofu was locked up at Mlondozi Prison, which is part of Khami Maximum Prison, since the middle of November. But not too long ago, Justice Evangelista Kabasa from the Bulawayo High Court looked over her case again and decided to set her free.
Last night, the Chronicle asked the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs about what happened. Mrs. Vimbai Nyemba, who's the Permanent Secretary there, said that Justice Kabasa had canceled out the sentence and conviction that the magistrate gave Ms. Mpofu. The judge gave the order to let her go.
Mrs. Nyemba explained that if there's a disagreement about what a lower court decided, a High Court judge can take another look at all the documents for that case. Then they can either tell the prison to release the person or they can agree with the original decision. In Ms. Mpofu's situation, Justice Kabasa chose to have her freed.
When Ms. Mpofu first got that two-year sentence for disciplining the teenagers, a lot of people in Bulawayo and on social media were really upset. They felt like she was being punished for doing what a parent is supposed to do - correcting kids when they misbehave.
In a video that Ms. Mpofu recorded from prison, she told the whole story. She said she came home from church one Friday and people told her that her son and his friends were having a party at a nearby house instead of being at school. She found them drinking alcohol, so she hit them as punishment.
But then the mother of one of the girls complained that Ms. Mpofu shouldn't have hit her child. That mother reported Ms. Mpofu to the police.
Ms. Mpofu had to go to court in mid-November. She spent the night in Mlondolozi Prison. The next day in court, there was nobody there except the guards. They informed her that she got two years in prison for what she did, but they'd take off six months.
When Ms. Mpofu said she wanted to have her witnesses speak, the guards told her that her case didn't have any witnesses. Even though her witnesses were right there, they never got a chance to say anything. That's how she ended up with her sentence.
It all happened in the Luveve suburb. Ms. Mpofu caught the teenagers, who were only in Form Two, throwing one of these Vuzu parties. Those parties are bad news - they're known for underage drinking, drug use, and risky sex. Teenage girls can end up with STIs or getting pregnant when they don't want to.
Ms. Mpofu was locked up at Mlondozi Prison, which is part of Khami Maximum Prison, since the middle of November. But not too long ago, Justice Evangelista Kabasa from the Bulawayo High Court looked over her case again and decided to set her free.
Last night, the Chronicle asked the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs about what happened. Mrs. Vimbai Nyemba, who's the Permanent Secretary there, said that Justice Kabasa had canceled out the sentence and conviction that the magistrate gave Ms. Mpofu. The judge gave the order to let her go.
Mrs. Nyemba explained that if there's a disagreement about what a lower court decided, a High Court judge can take another look at all the documents for that case. Then they can either tell the prison to release the person or they can agree with the original decision. In Ms. Mpofu's situation, Justice Kabasa chose to have her freed.
When Ms. Mpofu first got that two-year sentence for disciplining the teenagers, a lot of people in Bulawayo and on social media were really upset. They felt like she was being punished for doing what a parent is supposed to do - correcting kids when they misbehave.
In a video that Ms. Mpofu recorded from prison, she told the whole story. She said she came home from church one Friday and people told her that her son and his friends were having a party at a nearby house instead of being at school. She found them drinking alcohol, so she hit them as punishment.
But then the mother of one of the girls complained that Ms. Mpofu shouldn't have hit her child. That mother reported Ms. Mpofu to the police.
Ms. Mpofu had to go to court in mid-November. She spent the night in Mlondolozi Prison. The next day in court, there was nobody there except the guards. They informed her that she got two years in prison for what she did, but they'd take off six months.
When Ms. Mpofu said she wanted to have her witnesses speak, the guards told her that her case didn't have any witnesses. Even though her witnesses were right there, they never got a chance to say anything. That's how she ended up with her sentence.
