Attempted murder suspect granted bail

Senior Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Nicholas Ndou further ordered Xolani Moyo to reside at Zenzeleni Moyo’s homestead at Village 4B, Skuni, Inyathi, and not to interfere with State witnesses.

The court further ordered him to surrender his travel documents to the Deputy Registrar of the High Court in Bulawayo and he should report to his nearest police station in Inyathi once every Friday between 6am and 6pm.

Moyo (24) initially appeared before a Bulawayo magistrate on 12 October this year facing a charge of attempted murder and was denied bail and remanded in custody.

Allegations against Moyo are that on 7 October this year, he had a misunderstanding with Mr Fortune Mpala over a girlfriend.

The State alleges that Moyo stabbed Mpala once on the left side of the chest with a knife resulting in Mr Mpala sustaining a deep cut.

Not happy with his being remanded in custody, Moyo approached Mr Ndivhadzo Siphuma, of Sansole and Senda, who then approached the High Court to appeal against the decision of the magistrate to deny him bail.

Mr Siphuma in the application argued that Moyo was a good candidate for bail and that there was no likelihood of him absconding.

He said if Moyo had the intention to abscond and being a holder of a passport, he could have done so since the alleged offence occurred on 7 October and he was arrested the following day.

“The respondent, (State) argues as outlined in the investigating officer’s affidavit, that there is a likelihood of interference with investigations and witnesses. It is submitted that this has no basis, as it is a statement that has no reasonable foundation. The respondent has not given any information to show how this belief is held,” argued Mr Siphuma.

The State represented by Mr Jabulani Mhlanga, of the Attorney General’s Office had opposed the application, saying the nature and gravity of the offence and the likely sentence were incentive enough for Moyo to abscond.

Mr Mhlanga noted that the medical affidavit compiled by a doctor who examined Mr Mpala shows that the injuries were severe, the degree of force used was severe and that there is a potential danger to life and a high risk for the complainant’s lung to collapse.