The possession of cocaine is a serious offence. Invariably, an accused convicted of the possession of cocaine must be handed a custodial sentence. The quantity of the cocaine is a critical factor to consider, however even where small amounts are involved, due to the harmful consequences of this drug, a sentence of imprisonment is deemed appropriate. Whilst there is a catena of case law on the range of sentenced impose in the possession of dagga in this jurisdiction, there are not that many cases dealing with appropriate sentenced involving the possession of cocaine. More
MAKONESE J: The accused was aged 44 years at the time of the commission of the offence. The deceased was her husband. He was aged 52 years when he met his demise. The accused appears in this court facing one count of murder in contravention of s47(1) of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act (Chapter 9:23). The accused tenders a plea of not guilty but avers that at the time of the commission of the offence she was suffering from a mental defect. She did not appreciate the consequences of her actions and was not criminally liable. The state... More
On the 25th July 2017 at around 2200 hours and outside his residence at 631 Emganwini, Bulawayo, the accused shot and injured deceased. The accused made a report at ZRP Nkulumane. He alleged that he shot the deceased who had attempted to rob him as he was parking his motor vehicle outside his gate. The deceased was conveyed to Mpilo Hospital where he died on 29th August 2017. The deceased succumbed to a gunshot wound. More
This matter was placed before me by the Registrar on automatic review. The accused was charged with contravening section 57 (a) of the Road Traffic Act Chapter 13:11 “ unlawful contact with a motor vehicle” in that on 25 June 2021 he used a T-shaped metal bar to open the front driver’s door locking device of a motor vehicle belonging to the CMED (Pvt) Ltd. Police officers spotted and arrested the accused in the act. He pleaded guilty and was convicted on his own plea. More
The accused is charged with contravening section 47 (1) of the Criminal Law Code. He denied the charge and prayed for his acquittal on the murder charge. Both the accused and the deceased were 26 years old at the time of the fatal incident.
The state case was briefly that on 27 November 2018, both were drinking beer separately at Mabhachi Bottle Store in Zhombe. The accused suddenly confronted the deceased over a misunderstanding they had the previous year. He then quickly stabbed the deceased once with a knife on the lower side of the stomach. He tried to stab... More
