Godwin Muzari
4 July 2009
A Congolese rhumba singer Kavund Mbav has landed himself in prison after he severely beat up his wife, accusing her of infidelity.
The 54-year-old Real Sounds of Africa band leader, popularly known as Jojo, pleaded guilty to the charges of beating his wife, Mercy, with fists and booted feet at their Warren Park house on June 24.
Mercy and Mbav have been married for 22 years and they have three children.
It is the state's case that on June 24, Mercy went to town and came back home at around 10pm in a taxi.
Soon after she was dropped at the gate, Mbav came out of the house and started beating her with clenched fists and booted feet demanding an explanation why she had come home late.
Mercy sustained head, face and neck injuries. She reported the case on the same night leading to Mbav's arrest.
However, in his plea, the musician said he had beaten up his wife because she had come home in the company of a boyfriend.
Mbav said he was enraged after he saw his wife arriving home in the driving seat of a unknown man's car.
He alleges that he saw Mercy and the stranger kissing before she disembarked and he went out and beat her.
In mitigation, his lawyer Reason Muchiriwesi said the court should be lenient with his client since he had been provoked.
He pleaded for a non-custodial sentence saying Mbav was a first offender who had not wasted the court's time since he had pleaded guilty on initial appearance.
The admission also notes that the accused is a family man who has to fend for his dependants while he is also a band leader employing 15-members.
Mbav was among original members of Real Sounds of Africa that came to Zimbabwe from the Democratic Republic of Congo in the 1970s.
The group's peak in the country was in the mid-1980s when they released the album Wende Zako which saw them touring the United Kingdom in 1986.
Real Sounds of Africa is popular for its soccer inspired tracks that including Soccer Fan while other hits include Seven Miles High and Get Real.
Its fame has, however, dwindled over the years and the group now only manages a few shows around small clubs in Harare.
Mbav who was not present in court entered the guilty plea on his initial appearance before Harare magistrate Olivia Mariga on June 26 and was remanded in custody to Friday last week for sentencing.
But the singer could not be brought to court on Friday because the Zimbabwe Prison Services did not have fuel.
His lawyer Muchiriwesi presented the mitigation and Mbav was further remanded in absentia for sentencing tomorrow.
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