The accused are appearing before this court charged with the crime of murder as defined in s 47 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23] (“Criminal Law Code”). It being alleged that accused 1, accused 2 and one Justice Mbedzi - who is not in this trial - on 26 December 2021 assaulted Cleoparton Nyathi (“deceased”) by stabbing him with a knife, assaulting him with mopane switch and hitting him with stones, intending to kill him or realising that there was a real risk or possibility that their conduct may cause the death of the deceased and... More
MAKONESE J: This matter raises the question of the doctrine of common purpose and its applicability in a matter where an accused admits having participated in the actual assault of the deceased, but avers that he dissociated himself from a fatal assault leading to the death of a victim.It is settled in our law that each individual in a common purpose case is to be judged on his own mensrea. The conduct of the accused on which criminal liability for the crime is founded consists not necessarily in an act which is casually linked with the death of the decease,... More
The accused is charged with murder as defined in section 47 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, Chapter 9:23. The accused caused the death of Kujani Mudenda by assaulting her all over the body with a switch intending to kill her or realising the real risk or possibility that your conduct may cause death but continued nonetheless. The accused pleaded not guilty to this charge but tendered a plea of guilty to the lesser charge of culpable homicide. More
The accused faces a charge of murder it being alleged that on the 26th of April 2022 and at a bushy area in Mbangiso Village, he unlawfully caused the death of Mirriam Ncube by striking her with a stick once on the head and thereby causing her death. The accused pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder but instead offered a limited plea to a charge of culpable homicide. More
KABASA J: The accused was facing a charge of murder as defined in section 47 (1) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, Chapter 9:23. He pleaded not guilty to murder but tendered a limited plea to culpable homicide as defined in section 49 of the Criminal Law Code.
The state accepted the limited plea and to that end tendered a statement of agreed facts. More
