Devil takes all the blame

When an intoxicated young man beats his father to the point that he loses an eye, what better excuse would the son have than the devil?
So, when Ntchisi Magistrate’s Court asked Mac Willy Denis for mitigation circumstances after he pleaded guilty to the charge of grievously wounding his 41-year-old step-father, the young man quickly blamed the devil.
A sobbing Denis, 26, told the court how the devil had fooled him into drinking alcohol under whose influence he hit his father’s left eye with a log.
The incident happened on April 23 at M’dalemera Village in the district and Denis and the victim, Chionetsero Mng’oma, had just returned from a drinking spree.
A disagreement on how to share a K200 change from the duo’s drinking escapade resulted in a fierce fight that saw Mng’oma losing his left eye at Kamuzu Central Hospital where he had been referred to by Ntchisi District Hospital for treatment.
“I don’t know what happened…the devil just entered my heart,” Denis told the court as he pleaded for lenience.
But his tears failed to move second grade magistrate Young Ng’oma who slapped the young man with a six-year jail term with the hope to keep him from the devil’s tracks for a while.