This murder typifies the belief held by some men, who apparently have an inflated value of their worth, that ‘if I can’t have you, then no one will.’ Chamani Tsambola, a farm worker at Dudley Estate, Marondera (hereinafter called the accused), in a fit of rage, is alleged to have attacked a woman with whom he had separated and killed her in cold blood. It resulted in his arrest and his being dragged before this court charged with murder as defined in Section 47(1) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23] (the Code). The formal allegations are... More
This matter was listed for trial today with the accused having been indicted
on 2 counts of murder. Prior to the hearing, counsel made a courtesy call and I met with them in
chambers. The accused’s counsel had not previously appeared before me and took the
opportunity to introduce himself as is customary. I enquired of counsel whether the matter was
proceeding to trial as scheduled. The State counsel advised that he would apply for
postponement of the trial for a number of reasons including the fact that he did not have state
witnesses in attendance. I directed that the... More
The first accused person is a 17 year old pupil at Dora Secondary School in Mutare where he is doing form 4 while the second accused person is a 16 year old pupil at Dangamvura High School in Mutare where he is doing form 3. More
Although accused pleaded guilty to contravening section 47 (1) (a) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Cap 9:23] the court entered a pea of not guilty in keeping with the provisions of s 271 (1) 0f the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act [Cap 9:07]. More
