Harare New Ziana – The High Court on Monday found Pius Jamba guilty of the murder of Moreblessing Ali in Seke, Chitungwiza, in June last year.
Justice Esther Muremba, who delivered the verdict, deferred announcing the sentence for Mukandi to December 20 this year.
Delivering her five-hour long judgement, Justice Muremba dismissed any political involvement in the murder of Ali, saying evidence presented in court indicated that it was not linked to the orgy of violence involving members of the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) and the ruling Zanu PF in the Nyatsime area of Chitungwiza,
The violence led to the abandonment of Ali’s burial and arrest of CCC vice national chairperson Job Sikhala, then local Member of Parliament Godfrey Sithole and several other party members.
The CCC claimed Ali was its member and they were therefore avenging her murder by Mukandi, who they alleged was a Zanu PF activist.
“The accused person said he did not know the deceased before meeting her at Chibhanguza Beerhall,” said Justice Muremba.
“From evidence given in court, there is nothing indicating the case had anything to do with politics. These claims are the work of politicians.
Ali’s daughter indicated that her mother had last been involved in politics in 2010 and was not involved with any political movement since then.”
Justice Muremba said Mukandi and Ali did not know each other but interacted through a misunderstanding which had nothing to do with politics on the fateful night.
“The evidence didn’t show that you (Mukandi) or the deceased were involved in any form of politics. Neither the deceased nor accused were involved in politics,” she said.
She dismissed Mukandi’s evidence that Ali and some two unknown men had followed him as he left Chibhanguza Beerhall on his wayn home demanding to know why he had kicked Ali’s dog when he saw it in the bar after which she threw herself at him and demanded he goes to show her where he stayed, forcing him to punch her once. When he punched her, she collapsed and died on the spot.
Justice Muremba also threw out Mukandi’s attempt to disown his warned and cautioned statement and indications to the police claiming that he had signed it and made the indications under duress, saying there is overwhelming evidence that Mukandi committed the gruesome murder for which answers are still being sought.
Ali was last seen on May 24 last year at Chibhanguza Beerhall following an altercation with Mukandi for allegedly kicking her dog, after which the latter was observed by her friend Kirina Mayironi dragging her.
Mayironi attempted to hit Mukandi with a beer bottle to save her friend but abandoned the rescue mission after being hit by a catapult-propelled stone on the chin, leaving a gaping wound.
She went back into the beerhall and pleaded with other patrons to help save Ali but none could hazard it, because Mukandi had besieged the beerhall entrance as he threw stones.
Mukandi allegedly dragged Ali to a secluded place where he used an unknown object to strike her and strangled her with her trousers, causing her death.
He then dismembered Ali’s body using a kitchen knife, stuffed the parts into sacks and took them to his mother’s homestead at Plot 321 Dunnotar Farm, Beatrice, where he threw them into a disused well.
After that, Mukandi went on the run to Hurungwe, Mashonaland West, where he eventually handed himself over to the police after realising that they were closing in on him.
He then confessed to the murder and made indications that led to the recovery of Ali’s mobile phone and sim cards before leading the law enforcement agents to the disused well where some of Ali’s clothes, shoes and the knife used to dismember her body were recovered.
New Ziana
