The two above named applicants are first and second accused persons in a criminal trial before me and two assessors on a charge of fraud as defined in s136 of the Criminal law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9.23]. The fraud charge emanates from the alleged use, by Blackdeck Livestock & Poultry (Pvt) Ltd (Blackdeck), of falsified documents as supporting documents, in a bid to secure a tender to supply 500 000 goats to the Ministry of Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development for a Presidential Empowerment Scheme. The allegedly falsified documents, allegedly submitted with the bid for the purposes... More
Apart from remedying the court a quo`s misdirection, this judgment restates three basic matters. Firstly, the procedure to follow in taking a plea of guilty in the magistrates` court in terms of sections 271 (2) (b) of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act [ Chapter 9:07] (“the CPE Act”). More
: The common cause facts resulting in the arraignment of the accused are that, on the 28th of March 2024 on the night of the murder, the accused visited the crime scene, Dandy 59 Mine, Kadoma, where the key State witness and his wife resided. He arrived after the deceased, Calisto Mutami, and his two friends had already arrived at this residence. The owner of the residence, Ntonio Yotamu, knew both the accused and the deceased, as both were artisanal miners at Inezdale Village. Yotamu was the holder of some mining rights, and his mining compound was his home and... More
[1] This record has been placed before me for review at the instance of the scrutinising regional magistrate sitting at Harare. The referral is in terms of s58 (3) (b) of the Magistrates Court Act [Chapter 7:10] which empowers the scrutinising regional magistrate, if it appears to him or her that doubt exists whether the proceedings are in accordance with real and substantial justice, to cause the papers to be forwarded to the registrar, who shall lay them before a judge of the High Court in chambers for review in accordance with the High Court Act [Chapter 7:06]. More
[1] On 21 November 2018 the accused was convicted on a charge of murder as defined in s 47(1)(a) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23] (the Criminal Law Code) and sentenced to death.
[2] Since the death penalty was abolished with the coming into force of the Death Penalty Abolition Act [Chapter 9:26] the matter is now before us for the accused to be sentenced afresh.
[3] The court found that on 10 December 2015 and at Kent Farm, Marondera, the accused caused the death of Patrick Phillimon by hitting him with a flat iron bar... More
The record of this matter was referred to me with a note from the scrutinizing magistrate. The accused was arraigned before the court facing a charge of contravening section 29 (1) of the Medicines and Allied Substances Control Act [Chapter 15:03] as read with the nineth and tenth schedules of S I 100/1991. He was convicted on his own plea to possessing unregistered medicine. The Scrutinizing Magistrate queried the propriety of the charge and whether in view of the quantities involved possession would be inferred to be for purposes of personal use. The trial magistrates’ response was that the accused... More
DUBE-BANDA J:
[1] This is a summary judgment application. At the moment this matter was called out, Mr Gumiro counsel for the respondents stood up intending to raise some preliminary issues for consideration by the court. Ms. Mahere counsel for the applicant objected indicating that counsel for the respondents had no right to begin. However, I allowed Mr Gumiro to place on record the preliminary issues he sought the court to consider.
[2] Mr Gumiro raised two preliminary issues; the first was that the seventh respondent is now deceased and no executor has been appointed to be substituted for him... More
