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Cape Town - It is impossible to say whether a Zimbabwean man who allegedly ate part of the heart of a man he killed is a danger to society, the Western Cape High Court heard on Tuesday.
“It is not possible to determine whether he is a danger to the mental and physical wellbeing of others,” psychiatrist and professor Tuviah Zabow told Judge Ashley Binns-Ward.
Zabow said 35-year-old Andrew Chimboza did not have a history of habitual violence and scored low on rating scales for risk assessment and psychopathy.
Thus, “he would not even be considered as a high risk individual”.
Zabow said there was scientific consensus that it was impossible to provide long-term predictions on dangerous behaviour, even if someone was assessed as a high risk.
The State had called him to the witness stand to read the findings of a psychiatric report he and Professor Sean Kaliski compiled after observing Chimboza at Valkenberg hospital in Cape Town in March.
Plea agreement
As part of a plea agreement, Chimboza had pleaded guilty to killing 62-year-old Mbuyiselo Manona at the home of a former client last June, after a disagreement.
Manona was his ex-client’s lover, and had apparently accused Chimboza of having sex with his partner.
Manona died from incisions to the upper body and blunt force injuries.
Accounts from three people during sentencing arguments pointed to Chimboza removing Manona’s heart, cutting it up and eating it. Chimboza denied the claims through his legal team.
Zabow said no signs of mental illness were evident.
While under observation, Chimboza denied being intoxicated or feeling strange at the time of the offence.
No history of aggression
According to the report, Chimboza was one of 12 children and did not have a history of difficult or aggressive behaviour during his youth.
“He abused alcohol and cannabis irregularly for many years, but has reportedly never acted aggressively when intoxicated,” Zabow said.
“Collateral information from his fiancée and family [in Johannesburg] described him to be generally a quiet unaggressive person who occasionally does lose his temper when provoked”.
Chimboza, wearing a brown jacket and pants, seemed relaxed during today's court proceedings.
