A Bulawayo Magistrate’s court has sentenced Chief Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni to 24 months in prison.

6 months were suspended for five years leaving him to serve an effective 18 months in prison.

MDC leader Nelson Chamisa on Friday morning said, “Trumped up charges and arrest of Chief Ndiweni of Ntabazinduna is a direct attack on Zimbabwean culture and traditional leadership.This attack opens yet another fresh national wound that will be difficult to heal. We demand the immediate release of the chief and his subjects.”

Ndiweni together with 23 of his subjects were yesterday convicted on charges of destroying a villager’s property in Ntabazinduna.

The villager named in court papers as Mr Mbele of Ntabazinduna was banished from the village by the chief after his wife Ms Nonkangelo Mpengesi was allegedly caught having s_ex with another villager.

In July last year, Chief Ndiweni ruled that Mr Mbele and his “adulterous” wife should be banished from Sifelani village, saying “prostitution” will not be tolerated in his area.