Family group chats turned toxic enough to catch criminal charges recently. A magistrate in Bulawayo ordered fifty-two-year-old Debra Choruma to perform unpaid labor after she bombarded her older sibling with nasty text messages. This Harare local pleaded guilty to cyberbullying charges following a bitter feud regarding their family estate.
Magistrate Patience Madondo handed down a seven-month jail term but suspended the custodial portion. Choruma avoids sitting behind bars provided she completes one hundred seventy-five hours of community service at Nkulumane Police Station and stays out of trouble for five years.
Rosa Takafakare dragged her younger sister to court because they could not agree on room allocations within their parents' home. Arguments started when Takafakare wanted a space reserved for a nephew moving in, but Choruma absolutely refused to entertain that idea.
Prosecutor Methuli Ncube explained that Choruma lashed out using the green messaging app to humiliate her sibling. Texts described Takafakare as mentally unstable while utilizing various vulgar insults, which prompted the victim to finally involve law enforcement.
Magistrate Patience Madondo handed down a seven-month jail term but suspended the custodial portion. Choruma avoids sitting behind bars provided she completes one hundred seventy-five hours of community service at Nkulumane Police Station and stays out of trouble for five years.
Rosa Takafakare dragged her younger sister to court because they could not agree on room allocations within their parents' home. Arguments started when Takafakare wanted a space reserved for a nephew moving in, but Choruma absolutely refused to entertain that idea.
Prosecutor Methuli Ncube explained that Choruma lashed out using the green messaging app to humiliate her sibling. Texts described Takafakare as mentally unstable while utilizing various vulgar insults, which prompted the victim to finally involve law enforcement.
