Accomplice in court over medical report forgery
THE man involved in forging a medical report for a suspected robber that was in remand prison, to prove that he has hearing problems, appeared in court yesterday.
Ignatious Bumhira (43) was brought before Harare magistrate Mr Dennis Mangosi charged with obstructing the course of justice along with Takawira Taderera, who is employed at as a court orderly from Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services.
Taderera is already on remand over the same case.
The State alleged that on December 2, 2021, Witness Nyarupa was arrested by detectives from CID Homicide Harare on four counts of armed robbery. He appeared at the Harare Magistrates Court where he was placed on remand in custody pending completion of investigations.
The court heard that while in remand prison, trial proceedings stalled after Nyarupa indicated that he had a hearing impairment, and the State applied that he be examined by an audiologist.
On June 23 last year, Nyarupa was taken to Audiomax Clinic in Harare by ZPCS officers where he was examined by Dr Tsungirirai Marufu who concluded that Nyarupa could hear normally with both ears.
The report was sent to the Harare Remand Prison. But it is alleged that Nyarupa connived with Taderera who intercepted the report and made material alterations on it and crafted another one that concluded Nyarupa was unable to hear with either ear.
Taderera then allegedly stamped the report using a ZPCS Harare Remand Clinic date stamp and took it to Harare Magistrates Court for the attention of the court.
That is when it was established that the report had been doctored, leading to investigations that resulted in the arrests.