Murderer loses bid to appeal
THE High Court has blocked a jailed Fort Rixon man, who allegedly teamed up with a friend and stoned his neighbour to death following a fight over a pregnant woman, from seeking leave to appeal at the Supreme Court.
Tshayizo Mpofu (27) of Bunja area in Insiza district was in June this year convicted of murder with constructive intent by Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Nicholas Mathonsi in connection with the death of Mlamuleli Mkhwananzi (33) in 2008. He was sentenced to an effective 12 years in jail.
Tshayizo’s alleged accomplice, Kelvin Gwizi (28) of the same area was however, found not guilty and acquitted. Tshayizo stoned Mkhwananzi to death before dumping the body in a maize field.
In his ruling, Justice Mathonsi said although the court relied on circumstantial evidence, there was enough proof directly linking Tshayizo to the murder. The judge exonerated Gwizi from the murder, saying he only followed Tshayizo since they were drinking beer together.
Mpofu through his lawyer Mr King Dube of Shenje and Company had filed an application before the same judge challenging his conviction and sentence.
He sought leave to appeal at the Supreme Court in terms of Order 43 Rule 262 of the High Court Rules.
In dismissing the appeal, Justice Mathonsi said Mpofu was convicted on the strength of the evidence given in court.
The judge said there was no existence of prospects of success on appeal. Justice Mathonsi said Mpofu literally admitted to the offence when he offered to compensate the family of the victim.
“I am of the view that the applicant wants to appeal not with the genuine intention to test the correctness of the judgment or because he believes himself to be innocent. If he was, he would not have paid compensation but would have stuck to his story that he did not commit the offence,” said Justice Mathonsi.
“Therefore to seek leave to appeal on a record such as the present is clearly frivolous, the appeal being manifestly doomed to failure. It is obviously unsustainable and utterly hopeless, and in the result, the application is hereby dismissed,” ruled the judge.
In his grounds of appeal, Mpofu said the judge erred by holding that the State case was premised on circumstantial evidence, arguing that the evidence failed to link him to the death.
“The court erred in finding that I had joined the fight when there was no evidence,” he argued.
The court heard that on April 17 in 2008, Mkhwananzi was hired to play his radio at a party in Zvamandere B, Fort Rixon.
Tshayizo and Gwizi, who were part of the crowd that attended the event, were sitting outside the kitchen hut where Mkhwananzi was playing the music. A disagreement arose between Mkhwananzi and Thulani Mpofu, a cousin to Tshayizo.
A fist fight broke out between the two men and when Tshayizo heard the noise, he immediately joined in the fight on the side of his cousin.
On realising that he was being overpowered, Mkhwananzi escaped from his aggressors with Tshayizo in hot pursuit. The court heard that Mkhwananzi fled and hid at a nearby maize field.
Tshayizo and Gwizi followed Mkhwananzi and assaulted him before stoning him to death.
On realising that Mkhwananzi was dead, they fled from the scene and left the body lying in the field. The decomposed body was discovered by villagers two days later. A report was made to the police leading to the arrest of the two men.
According to post-mortem results, the cause of death was multiple skull fracture, assault and subarachnoid haemorrhage. Mkhwananzi’s wife, Ms Florence Nyoni, in her testimony, said Tshayizo had a long standing feud with her husband over a woman he had impregnated.— @mashnets.