11 "Trespassing" Roman Catholic Church Priests Beaten Up
Eleven (11) Roman Catholic Church priests were allegedly assaulted by a security guard at Mbembi Farm in Mazowe after they trespassed into a mining area he was guarding, reported NewsDay.
The matter came to light at Concession Magistrates Courts recently where the security guard, Tsaurayi Kaunye, pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of assault.
The 48-year-old was remanded out of custody to 01 January 2024.
Prosecutor Munyaradzi Nengomasha told the court that on 11 September 2023, the complainants got lost and trespassed into the mine.
It is further alleged that Kaunye saw the clergymen and they did not give him a satisfactory explanation.
He then forced them out of their car and made them lie down before forcing them to roll several times.
Kaunye allegedly assaulted the priests with a log and they all sustained bruises.
Assault is a serious criminal offence that can lead to imprisonment for up to 10 years.
It occurs when a person intentionally or recklessly causes bodily harm to another person and involves physical attacks, threats, or acts that result in serious bodily injury.
According to a legal commentator, assault is defined under Section 89 of the Criminal Codification Reform Act Chapter 9:23 as when a person physically attacks another person intending to cause that person bodily harm or does so even after realising that there is a real risk or possibility of bodily harm.
Threats to assault someone using words and gestures that are intended to inspire fear in the mind of the threatened person so that they believe physical force will be used against them are illegal.
Threats on their own are serious enough to result in a conviction and can carry similar penalties to actual assaults.
It is not an acceptable defence to plead that the threat was empty because it was impossible to carry out or that the accused could not carry out the assault. A mere threat to assault someone is a punishable crime.
More:Â Pindula News
