HARARE Magistrate Estere Chivasa has set free two opposition political party leaders and two Harare residents, who were being prosecuted for allegedly committing attempted murder during the post 2023 general election period.
The quartet of Sunningdale constituency legislator Hon. Hon. Maureen Kademaunga, Clayd Mashozhera, the Ward 10 Councillor in Sunningdale constituency, Noel Munhuweyi and Daudi Kharim Jessub, had been on trial at Harare Magistrates Court, after they were arrested by Zimbabwe Republic Police officers on 12 September 2023 and charged with three counts of attempted murder as defined in section 189(1) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act as read with section 47 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act and malicious damage to property as defined in section 140 of Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.
In the course of the trial, prosecutors alleged that during a period between Tuesday 22 August 2023 and Wednesday 23 August 2023, Hon. Kademaunga, Councillor Mashozhera, Munhuweyi and Jessub, who were reportedly in the company of 14 unidentified accomplices and were driving various vehicles, blocked one of the complainants, Cyril Nyauchi’s vehicle, a Toyota Spacio and forced Artwell Marwa and Spencer Mudarikwa, the other two complainants out of the vehicle.
After doing this, Hon. Kademaunga, Councillor Mashozhera, Munhuweyi and Jessub, who were represented by Tapiwa Muchineripi and Harrison Nkomo of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, and some of their unidentified accomplices, reportedly assaulted Nyauchi all over his body using truncheons, iron bars, small axes and sjamboks and this resulted in him sustaining severe injuries.
With regard to the charge of malicious damage to property as defined in section 140 of Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, prosecutors claimed that the four accused persons and the alleged 14 accomplices, blocked Nyauchi’s vehicle and forced Marwa and Mudarikwa of their vehicle and then set the vehicle on fire.
As a result, prosecutors charged that US$10 000, tyres, an empty fuel jerry can, a Samsung mobile phone handset and a Nokia mobile phone handset all valued at US$15 600, were all lost during the incident.
However, Magistrate Chivasa recently set Hon. Kademaunga, Councillor Mashozhera, Munhuweyi and Jessub free, after discharging and acquitting them at the close of the prosecution case.
In the application for discharge at the close of the prosecution case, Muchineripi and Nkomo had argued that there was no iota of evidence linking Hon. Kademaunga, Councillor Mashozhera, Munhuweyi and Jessub, to the commission of the alleged offences.
ENDS
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