Short-lived joy for acquitted armed robbers

FOUR men arrested for armed robbery of US$ 187 000 and two cars, but acquitted by a regional magistrate, now face further legal challenges, with the State filing a notice of appeal at the High Court against that acquittal.

The State wants the High Court to set aside a judgment that led to acquittal of Alexio Mupamhura, Kallson Mabhonga, Tapiwa Zimbandu and Emmanuel Dylan Matiza and return a guilty verdict based on the evidence presented at the original trial.

That would clear the air for an appropriate sentence.

The four were acquitted of an armed robbery in Alexandra Park and two robberies of motor vehicles by Harare regional magistrate Mrs Gloria Takundwa.

In its notice of appeal, the State argues that the trial court erred at law and the four should have been convicted on the evidence led at their trial that they used violence to rob a company of cash and assorted property and for robbing two individuals in separate cases of their up- market vehicles.

The State argues that the court erred when assessing the evidence led by the four in their defence which the State belies had several and notable inconsistencies.

It also argued that the court ignored several aspects of the State evidence: that Mupamhura was apprehended under a vehicle after a protracted chase with police officers; that the Toyota Harrier used to commit the offences had been borrowed from a witness, which was confirmed by Zimbandu and Matiza; and that the State had presented recovered money, property stolen, and a vehicle acquired by the four immediately after commissioning the offence.

Stadic Petroleum ( Pvt) Limited, which was robbed of two safes containing US$ 11 907 and US$ 129 507 and US$ 928 taken from the drawer at their offices in Mr Pleasant, had written to the National Prosecuting Authority expressing their disappointment of the acquittal.

That company also lost a 55- inch Telefunken plasma TV, a HP desktop, a DStv decoder, a MacBook desktop, a CCTV DVR and its monitor, three US3000 C Pylon batteries, thirteen 5kW inverters, two 7,2 kW inverters, 26 panel rails, a grinder, a tool kit, a HP laptop and other valuables in the robbery. Much was recovered as a result, allegedly, of indications made by the accused.

“I was surprised to hear that the accused persons were acquitted of all counts of robbery. In my view this was not a fair judgment since the accused had led to the recovery of our property. I request, in the interest of justice, that your esteemed office investigates this matter and launch an appeal against the findings of the court,” reads part of the letter written to NPA by Stadic Petroleum director Mr Stanislaw Mutakuramombe.

Mupamhura, Mabhonga, Zimbandu and Matiza were said to have robbed Natasha Channel Naicker of her Subaru Legacy car on February 8 this year in Braeside, Harare, and Khumbulani Mulenga of his Isuzu KB single cab on February 14. That Isuzu was used in the armed robbery on the following day at Stadic Petroleum offices at No. 1 College Road, in Alexandra Park.