A Harare man, Cleophas Kumire was jailed for three years following his conviction for killing a man who mocked him over his epileptic condition.
Kumire was found guilty of a lesser charge of culpable homicide by High Court Justice Munamato Mutevedzi who ruled that what the deceased did was uncalled for.
He killed one Wilson Chiyadzwa who had threatened to assault him "until his epilepsy is healed."
"We found during the trial that the deceased person in a state of inebriation either from illicit alcohol or drugs had used unrestrained language to mock the offender by referring to his epileptic medical condition.
"The deceased, totally unprovoked, had crudely boasted that he could beat the offender until he (the offender) was healed of the epilepsy."
In the main judgement leading to his conviction, the judge said epilepsy should be viewed as a disability.
"It is common cause that the accused is indeed an epileptic patient. While epilepsy is generally considered a disease it is equally viewed as a disability in some societies because it severely inhibits a person afflicted with it from competently doing their day-to-day activities or remembering things.
"In my view making reference to someone's medical condition or disability in a negative way as was done by the deceased in this case amounts to an obnoxious comment," he said.
Mutevedzi said he does not doubt that at times statements can leave more indelible emotional bruises than physical scars may do.
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"Taunting such as the deceased employed in this case is a classic form of bullying. It is a non-physical or intangible form of abuse which entails being derisive and contemptuous of another person based on their illness or disability.
"It is damaging cruelty aimed at harming someone emotionally," he said.
The judge also said it is demeaning and cowardice of the highest order.
"The deceased must, in this case, have been aware that the illness was the accused's weakest spot. In his drunken and near senseless stupor, he aimed for it."
Chiyadzwa verbally attacked Kumire and mocked him by referring to his epileptic condition.
In a state of anger, Kumire then took a wooden plank and struck the deceased on the back of the head leading to an injury that led to his death the next day.
The judge said Chiyadzwa was drinking illicit alcohol adding that it therefore won't be an exaggeration to find that he contributed to his death in a more serious way than the obvious.
"The offender's actions were not outrageous. They were ordinary and thus his negligence remained at the ordinary level," the judge said.
