Man fatally spears police officer

Tomasi (31) of Chagadama Village under Chief Dandahwa, was yesterday convicted of murder with actual intent.

He is also believed to have set ablaze his father’s homestead, accusing him of co-operating with the police.
The court also heard that the burning of the huts, which was not pursued at law, was also meant to destroy the evidence linking him to the theft of the utensils.

His father Mr Victor Tomasi co-operated with the investigators to an extent that the recovered property was taken to his homestead for some paperwork.
Tomasi, who had fled the police, later resurfaced when the investigating team was at his father’s house and stabbed Mr Wellington Beremauro, a member of the Neighbourhood Watch Committee, in the stomach.

Mr Beremauro, who was leading the investigating team, was based at Chidamoyo Police Base in Hurungwe.
Justice Samuel Kudya yesterday indefinitely deferred the sentence so that two Government psychiatrists could examine Tomasi in a bid to establish whether there were any extenuating factors.
The deferment came after a successful application for medical examination by defence lawyer, Mr Everson Chatambudza, to establish Tomasi’s state of mind when he committed the offence.

The incident occurred on August 9 2008, when Beremauro and two other members of the NWC, Never Chishato and Pascal Zvikonyaniswa, were investigating a case of theft of some kitchen utensils in the village.
Acting on a tip-off, the trio pounced on Tomasi’s homestead, where he was playing cards with eight other men.
Upon seeing the policemen, Tomasi fled.

The trio searched some 15 beehives at Tomasi’s house and recovered the plates and cups as well as two external radio speakers that had been stolen from a neighbour.
The stolen property was taken to the homestead of Tomasi’s father, where they recorded the recovered items and interviewed witnesses for close to three hours.

When the trio was leaving, Tomasi emerged from the dark and struck Beremauro on the stomach and the spear protruded from the back.
The court heard that he further struck Beremauro on the head with an iron bar, killing him instantly.

When the attack started, the other men, including Tomasi’s father, ran for their lives.
A report was made to the police and the corpse was ferried to Chinhoyi Hospital, where Dr Kudzai Zimbudzi compiled a postmortem report confirming the attack as the cause of death.

The court also heard that Tomasi set his father’s huts on fire and disappeared.
He was apprehended a week later.

Tomasi’s father gave evidence in court nailing his son.
He dismissed Tomasi’s defence of political victimisation as false.

Tomasi had denied the charges, saying he acted in self-defence when a group of 10 Zanu-PF militia pounced on him accusing him of being an MDC-T member.
His father told the court that the matter was not political and that Tomasi only killed Beremauro for his primary role in the recovery of the stolen property.

However, the father could not confirm if his son was the one who burnt his huts.
Justice Kudya ruled that Tomasi deliberately killed Beremauro and that he was guilty of murder with actual intent.

The judge described Tomasi’s father as a credible and truthful witness whose evidence was never affected by his fatherly love for the accused person.
All State witnesses who testified were applauded for their consistence and truthfulness.

Tomasi, who gave evidence as the sole defence witness, was criticised for inconsistencies and contradictions.
Justice Kudya described Tomasi as a poor witness who tried to give a false political defence when the matter was purely politics-free.