adminNovember 7 at the High Court.
On Monday Justice Joseph Musakwa deferred the trial to November 7 after lawyers representing Kudakwashe Madira did not attend court. Lawyers represent murder suspects for free (pro deo) and no trial opens or proceeds when an accused person is not legally represented.
Law officer Mr Public Mpofu, complained to the court about the conduct of such pro-deo lawyers who normally do not turn up for trials.
Justice Musakwa gave an order compelling the lawyer to avail himself failure of which, he would write to the Law Society of Zimbabwe.
Allegations against Madira arose on April 1 last year when he had an altercation with his employer Ms Dahiben Ratanji Gulab over salary issues.
The dispute degenerated into a fight resulting in Madira strangling his employer with an electric cord.
Madira allegedly dumped the corpse in a toilet and closed the door.
He spent the night at the house and left for Chitungwiza the following morning. The murder was discovered a week later when Gulab’s relatives visited. Apparently, she was not answering calls and they wanted to find out if she was well. They were greeted by an unpleasant smell prompting them to make a police report. Police investigations led to the arrest of Madira.
Online Reporter