adminCourt Correspondent
TWO Consolidated Farming Investments (CFI) security guards, who allegedly opened fire on a group of youths who were allocating stands in the company premises before killing one on the spot, yesterday appeared in court.
Dennis Dengedza (27) and Musa Maikoro (32) were facing murder and attempted murder charges when they appeared before Harare magistrate Mrs Judith Taruvinga.
They were remanded in custody and advised to apply for bail at the High Court.
Prosecutor Mr Lancelotte Mutsokoti told the court that on October 1, Dengedza and Maikoro were on duty at Langford Farm, Harare South, where they were deployed together with 14 police officers from Mbare district patrol team.
It is alleged that on the same day, the patrol team arrested a group of youths who were illegally allocating themselves stands in the private land belonging to CFI Holdings.
The court heard that the police officers and the security guards took the arrested youths to a lorry which was parked inside the premises so that they could take them to Southlea Park police station.
It is the State’s case that as they were about 300 metres out of the yard, a group of more than 50 youths made a follow up and blocked the road intending to rescue their arrested colleagues.
The driver allegedly made a U-turn and retreated into the yard, while the singing group charged towards the guards who were manning the gate threatening to beat them and forced the gate open demanding the release of their arrested colleagues.
It is alleged that the accused persons who were armed with a .303 rifle with a magazine of seven rounds and a shotgun with two rounds of ammunition both fired warning shots into the air, but this did not deter the youths.
The court heard that the accused persons then fired towards the crowd and the now deceased Mushamera Ndora was shot. Another victim John Zanza was shot once in the stomach, whilst Pride Shumba was shot in the right leg below the knee.
It is alleged that the injured were taken to Sally Mugabe Central Hospital for treatment where Zanza is in a critical condition whilst Shumba is stable.
A report was made, leading to the arrest of Dengedza and Maikoro.
The nine arrested youths have since appeared at Mbare Magistrates Court facing criminal trespass charges.
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