Online Reporter
Gibson Mhaka [email protected]
A 60-year-old man from Plumtree who was facing charges of violating the conditions of a protection order after being accused of pouring a liquid suspected to be poison into his tenant’s room heaved a sigh of relief after he was discharged due to lack of evidence.
Donald Dube of Mathendele appeared before Plumtree magistrate Mr Joshua Nembaware facing charges of failing to comply with a court order as defined in Section 10 (7) of the Domestic Violence Act, Chapter 5:16.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges and was discharged at the close of the State case after the court ruled that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against him.
The court heard that on 16 October last year, Dube was served with a protection order under case number PTPR86/25, which compelled him to maintain peace and refrain from abusing his tenant, Marko Moyo, in any manner.
However, allegations arose that on 18 January this year, Dube breached the standing order by pouring an unknown liquid, suspected to be poison, into Moyo’s room.
The incident was reported to the police, leading to Dube’s arrest for contempt of court.
In his evidence-in-chief, Moyo told the court that the accused person poured the liquid while he was asleep.
“The accused poured some liquid poison in my room while I was asleep.
“I then collected the liquid using a spoon, put it in a container, and took it to the police as evidence,” Moyo testified.
However, the State’s case collapsed as it failed to provide conclusive evidence linking the accused to the act or proving the nature of the substance.
In passing his ruling, Mr Nembaware noted that the State had not established a sufficient case to warrant putting the accused on his defence, leading to Dube’s acquittal.
