A domestic worker has been jailed for setting fire to two of his employer's buildings following a dispute over fruit from an orchard.
The blaze destroyed houses and stored food, causing losses of more than US$10,000.
The 32-year-old man from Chindoti Village under Chief Marange appeared before the Mutare Magistrates' Court, where he was convicted of malicious damage to property.
The court heard that on June 27, 2026, the man, who was employed by a 64-year-old woman as a domestic worker, became enraged after she ordered him to stop picking unripe oranges from her orchard.
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Following the confrontation, he allegedly set fire to a thatched kitchen hut before moving to a nearby two-roomed house, which he also set alight.
Prosecutors said he armed himself with an axe and threatened to kill anyone who attempted to extinguish the flames.
The fire destroyed both structures along with 16 bags of maize, five bags of groundnuts, two bags of round nuts, two bags of rapoko, four bags of fertiliser, six bags of cement and assorted household groceries.
The total value of the destroyed property was estimated at US$10,193.
The court sentenced him to 36 months' imprisonment, with 10 months suspended on condition that he repays the complainant US$10,193.
He will therefore serve an effective 26-month prison term.
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