The Regional Magistrate forwarded the record of proceedings to the above named matter with the following comments;
“ 1. Having convicted accused on a charge of contravening section 67 (1) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, Chapter 9:23 the court sentenced him to 5 months imprisonment, part of which was suspended on condition of good behaviour, the remainder being suspended on condition that accused pays a fine. I am not convinced of the appropriateness of suspending a prison term on condition of payment by accused of a fine.
2. The portion of imprisonment suspended on condition of good... More
The brief allegations against the accused were as follows: The accused person aged 68 years, appeared before an Epworth Magistrate facing a charge of “indecent assault” as defined in s 67 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23], the Criminal Code. The accused and witness are neighbours and known to each other. One early morning the complainant, a 12-year-old female child was waiting for a taxi to take her to school when the accused approached her. He greeted her and asked her what grade she was in. The complainant told him that she was in grade 7... More
What does it mean to say that for purposes of determining intention, a person’s motive is immaterial to criminal liability unless the CODE expressly states otherwise? In my view, this means that where the person whose conduct is in issue intended or meant to engage in the action or produce the result which he did, then it those circumstances, the person may properly be held to have intended to commit the crime, and the actual reasons why the person engaged in such conduct are irrelevant to the element of the crime that requires proof of actual intention. More
The accused is facing two counts of murder as defined in s 47 (1)(a) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23] (the Criminal Law Code). It is not in dispute that on 13 October 2020 at No. 10, Village 43 Hoyuyu, Mutoko he caused the death of Lizzie Madende by striking her with an axe once on the head just above the left ear and once on the forehead thereby causing injuries from which Lizzie Madende died on the spot. It is also not in dispute that on the same date, time and place, the accused struck... More
To those that are religious this case may be yet another confirmation of the Biblical admonishment that the wages of sin is death. If hell indeed exists like many Christians believe, the deceased person may well walk straight through its gates unless he made peace with his God immediately before he died. He was caught in flagranto delicto having sexual intercourse in the bush with Fungai Nyamurenje, a married woman. The two lovebirds’ affair would qualify as adultery in terms of both our laws and Christian values. The discovery was made around 0600 hours by Fungai’s husband. I am not... More