A 38-year-old mentally ill man from Kwekwe has dodged jail time for stabbing his wife to death with a kitchen knife after he mistook her for a lion.

iharare.com reports that Godfrey Sibanda was spared imprisonment after the Gweru High Court ruled that he was mentally insane.

“I saw her appearing as a lion so I grabbed a knife and stabbed the lion; I then realized later that I had killed my wife.” Sibanda said in his defense

Justice Mathonsi said, “Sibanda should not be held responsible for his actions, because of his mental condition. Instead he should get some serious help, therefore I see it fit not to send him back to jail but instead should be transferred to a mental institution.”

It was also confirmed that Sibanda’s family had a history of mental illness.