North End murder suspects in court

Mbonisi Mkandla (24), of Matshuza Village, Chief Nkalakatha in Nkayi and Malvin Gohwa (24) of Number 15 Willoughby Avenue, North End, are facing a charge of murder.
The two accused allegedly stabbed Mr Michael Jongi several times all over the body with a kitchen knife, resulting in his death.
Mkandla was reportedly living at Jongi’s house after he offered him a place to stay.
After killing Mr Jongi, the duo then allegedly put his body in his own car, a Nissan Terrano and dumped it at an open space at the intersection of Airport Road and Frere Road in Queens Park suburb.
Indications are that Mkandla and Gohwa intended to drive out of the city to dump the body and sell the car to raise money for their fares to South Africa.
They however ran out of luck when the vehicle’s automatic lock system was triggered.
It is alleged they then dumped the body on the side of the road and pushed the car into a bridge to appear as if Mr Jongi had died in an accident.
The duo was not formally charged with murder when it appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Mr Sikhumbuzo Nyathi yesterday.
They were remanded in custody to 7 March and advised to apply at the High Court for bail.
Mkandla and Gohwa told the court they were severely assaulted by the police and were in pain.
The magistrate gave instruction that Gohwa, who claimed he needed to be examined, be referred for medical examination.
Evidence linking Mkandla and Gohwa to the offence is that they both confessed to murder on their arrest and made indications on how they committed the offence.
The knife that was used in committing the offence was recovered while Mkandla was found in possession of some clothes belonging to Jongi.
The duo also led the police to the recovery of Mr Jongi’s wallet, with his personal particulars, which they had thrown away in a bush near Tegela Flyover along Airport Road.
Police also allegedly recovered a blood-stained pair of trousers belonging to Mkandla.
The State also denied the duo bail because investigations are still underway to locate a witness who was reportedly with Mr Jongi when he was killed.
There are also reports that the two men allegedly raped the witness before dropping her in the city centre near TM Hyper so that she could look for transport to go to her place.
The State led by Mr Malvern Nzombe, alleges that on Friday last week, Mkandla and Gohwa sneaked into  Mr Jongi’s house wearing masks at night.
They went to the bedroom where they allegedly stabbed him several times on the back, on the head and throat.