Vendor gets death threats

A MALE vendor operating on the streets of Mutare is living in perpetual fear of being murdered following incessant threats from female colleagues over alleged biased issuing of flea market tables by Mutare City Council.

The alleged suspects - Beverley Mwashita (34), Earnmore Ngwarati (40) and Evelyn Nikisi (37) - all of Sakubva denied the charge when they appeared before Mutare provincial magistrate Mr Tendai Mabwe on Thursday.

The three were facing threats to commit murder charges as read with Section 186 as defined in Section 47 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, Chapter 9:23.

Public prosecutor Mr Fletcher Karombe represented the State.

Allegations were that on July 31, Moses Chingore of Palmerstone lowdensity suburb was at the market place along Herbert Chitepo Street when the three accused persons approached him.

Nikisi asked Chingore why he was causing trouble over flea market tables that they had been issued by the Mutare City Council after he had failed to secure his own table.

“They then had a misunderstanding over the iallocation of flea market tables. After the confrontation, all three accused persons moved away from Chingore and began shouting at him, threatening him over the issue of the tables,” said Mr Karombe.

Nikisi is alleged to have said: “If I fail to get my table, I want to kill you using my own hands.”

Mwashita and Ngwarati allegedly said: “If you erect those tables you will die.”

In their own defence, the trio insisted that all that had been presented to the court were lies and that they had never at any time confronted Chingore on the allocation of tables though he was the one causing problems.

“Your Worship, Chingore is the one causing mayhem at our workplace only because he failed to secure a table when Mutare City Council issued market place tables to vendors earlier this year,” said Nikisi.

Nikisi, Mwashita and Ngwarati were remanded out of custody to September 14 for trial.

Bail was set at the three’s own cognisance.