Online Reporter
Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter
A 37-year-old artisanal miner from Fort Rixon, who stands accused of stabbing his 25-year-old workmate, Trust Muzvondiwa to death over a US$26 debt has applied for discharge at the close of the State’s case arguing that the evidence presented was manifestly unreliable to sustain a conviction.
The accused person, Johane Muzvondiwa’s case is being heard at the Bulawayo High Court.
According to court papers filed by the State, the incident occurred on 3 May 2024 at Pioneer Village 3 Business Centre in Fort Rixon in Insiza District.
The State alleges that the accused and the now deceased had been drinking beer together when an argument erupted over the now deceased’s failure to repay US$26 owed to the accused.
The dispute reportedly escalated later that evening, with the accused allegedly stabbing the now deceased twice, once in the chest and once in the neck, using an Okapi knife.
Key witnesses, including Mr Sylvester Mapulanka (the deceased’s uncle), Mr Knowledge Zondewa, and Mr Alfred Madzivire, testified that the accused had threatened the now deceased before the attack adding that efforts to intervene drew blanks after the accused person intimated in a fit of rage that it was a family matter.
Mr Mapulanka claimed he attempted to mediate but his efforts hit a brick wall when the accused person became violent and allegedly stabbed him in the hand while targeting the now deceased.
The State further relied on a blood-stained knife, allegedly recovered from the accused’s pocket during his arrest and post-mortem reports confirming the fatal wounds.
In a detailed defence outline, Muzvondiwa pleaded not guilty, offering a starkly different account of events.
Represented by a legal team from Nozabelo Law Chambers, Johane Muzvondiwa argued that he was wrongly implicated and that the State’s evidence was riddled with inconsistencies.
“I (Muzvondiwa) and the deceased had parted ways amicably after the initial disagreement over the debt. I remained at the Sugar-Sugar bar while the deceased left, only learning of the stabbing later when Lindiwe Chinyati alerted the bar patrons. I then rushed to the scene upon hearing of the injury and found the deceased lying in the grass.
“I deny any altercation as I sought help to transport the deceased to the hospital. I was arrested based on circumstantial evidence, including the knife, which I do not own. The knife handed to the police is not mine. My uncle Sylvester Mapulanka never restrained me and I did not stab him,” said Muzvondiwa in his defence.
At the close of the State’s case, defence lawyer moved for the accused’s discharge under Section 198(3) of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act, arguing that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case.
The defence contended that witnesses like Mapulanka and Zondewa gave contradictory accounts, particularly regarding the sequence of events and the accused’s alleged threats.
“No eyewitnesses directly saw the knife in the accused’s hand during the stabbing,” argued the defence.
The defence questioned the chain of custody of the knife, noting it was picked up by a witness (Zondewa) rather than recovered by police.
While the State framed the debt as the motive, the defence argued that the accused had no reason to kill over a small sum, especially after the deceased promised repayment.
The court is expected to rule on the discharge application.
