They were each sentenced to a fine of $2 000 000.00 or in default of payment 2 months imprisonment and the one hundred rands were forfeited to the State.
The penalty section requires that before making a forfeiture order the magistrate must make an enquiry into the existence or otherwise of special circumstances. If special circumstances are found then the trial magistrate may not order forfeiture. For instance if the money belongs to an innocent third party such foreign currency may not be forfeited. In this case the trial magistrate ordered forfeiture without first canvassing the existence or otherwise of... More
Anyway Pondo and Keith Matenena were charged with the offence of murdering 73 year old Langton Mandibvira. We discharged Keith Matenena the second accused at the close of the state case and gave reasons for our decision. The trial continued in respect of the 1st accused. This judgment therefore relates to the first accused, Anyway Pondo (hereinafter the accused). More
The accused and the deceased were husband and wife. They lived in Norton. The marriage had subsisted for 22 years at the time of the deceased’s demise. A marital dispute ensued with the accused alleging infidelity on the part of the deceased. As per cultural practice the deceased invited her uncle to mediate. An attempt to mediate seemed to yield some short lived reconciliation of about a day or two ending with the death of the deceased. On the 13th of July 2020 the uncle bade farewell. He was joined by the accused who wanted to proceed to Harare. They... More
The test to be applied where the defence of provocation is raised to a charge of murder is this - Did the accused actually lose his self-control, and not necessarily his capacity to intend to kill? The second part of the test is for the court to ask itself whether, in the circumstances before it an ordinary man would have lost his self-control and acted as the accused did. Domestic violence is now supurating sore, a cancer on the fabric of our society and moral wellbeing. Both sexes have proved capable of taking away the life of a spouse or... More
: As will be seen below, the applicants were arrested at different times. They equally appeared for remand procedures in the Magistrates court separately. They however face the same charges. I heard their applications for bail separately and dismissed them. I gave my reasons ex tempore. On 8 January 2024, their counsel Mr Kavhumbura requested through the registrar of this court that I avail my full written reasons for those decisions in order for him to properly advise his clients. More
The accused was on 9 October 2021 charged with and convicted of unlawfully possession of two plastic satchets of dagga which weighed a combined 95 grammes. It was alleged that on 8 October 2021, at a home in Nharira, Norton, the accused was arrested while in unlawful possession of the two satchets of dagga. More
Initially the accused was charged for contravening section47(1) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23] which relates to murder. The accused was jointly charged with 7 other accused persons. However the 7 other accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charge after which the State withdrew charges against them after plea hence all the 7 accused persons were found not guilty and acquitted. More
The argument which resulted in the death of Onisimo Mavhungire stemmed from a misunderstanding which the deceased had with a commercial sex worker at some beerhall in Chivhu. Ashton intervened. The insinuations are that young as he is, he also intended to hire the services of the same woman. She was a lot older than him. That the young man wanted to have sexual intercourse with someone approximating his mother’s age demonstrates the depth of love or more accurately, the bravery and possibly the depravity that today’s generation has. He and Kuda had been drinking. Most probably, they gathered Dutch-courage... More
Prosecution alleged in this murder trial, that the three accused persons Ashton Tadiwanashe Mandaza (first accused), Kudakwashe Machingauta (second accused and Taurai Dzvova (third accused) contravened s 47(1) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23] (the Code) in that on 17 May 2022 at Chivhu Location Shops, the accused persons each or all of them unlawfully and with intent to kill or realizing that there was a real risk or possibility that their conduct may cause death but continuing to engage in that conduct despite the realisation of the risk or possibility, caused the death of Tazvivinga... More
: At the conclusion of this trial, our unanimous decision was that we must as we hereby do, find the accused not guilty and acquitted of the charge of murder he was facing. More
The accused person appeared before a Harare Magistrate together with a co-accused facing a charge of attempted murder as defined in s 189 (1) (a) (b) as read with s 47 (1) (a) (b) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform Act, [Chapter 9:23] and another of robbery as defined in s 126 (1) (a) (b) of the said code. The two accused pleaded not guilty and his co-accused was acquitted at the close of the trial. The accused was convicted and sentenced to 6 years imprisonment for the attempted murder charge and 10 years imprisonment for the robbery charge,... More
The appellant was charged with the common law crime of sodomy. Hepleaded not guilty but was convicted after a trial by the Regional Magistrate for the Eastern Division sitting at Harare. He was sentenced to 3 years imprisonment of which 2 years imprisonment was suspended for 5 years on condition of future good conduct. More
The applicant is facing one count of armed robbery as defined in s 126 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, [Cap 9:23]. She is the fifth accused, jointly charged with four accomplices. More
The accused was convicted by the Magistrate sitting at Chiredzi of contravening section 113(2)(a) of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act [Cap 9:23] which relates to theft of trust property. More
This is an application made in terms of s 198 (3) of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act [Cap 9:07] for the discharge of the accused person at the close of the State case. More
