adminTemba Dube Senior Reporter
A Bulawayo man is accusing a public prosecutor of unprocedurally freeing a suspect who was part of a gang that assaulted and robbed him before leaving him for dead.
Mlawuli Gwayi, 23, of Pumula South on Thursday said he was attacked by three people that he boarded a commuter omnibus with on Wednesday last week.
He said his assailants were arrested on Saturday but a prosecutor at Western Commonage Magistrate Courts, Wilfred Buhlalu ordered the release of the suspect under unclear circumstances.
“I boarded a kombi at about 8PM on January 22 at Magwegwe West, going to Pumula South. There were three male passengers. The driver changed his mind when we were near Premier High School in Pumula South and said he had decided to go to Nkulumane 12,” said Gwayi.
He said he got off the kombi with the other three passengers.
“As we were walking along the road looking for alternative transport, one of the men hit me at the back of the head and I fell down. They all started kicking me and stamping on my face. One of them stabbed me twice and they dragged me into a nearby bush,” said Gwayi.
“They took my shoes, Samsung cellphone, wallet, $30, a defensive driver’s licence, car and house keys. They left me a bloody mess, probably thinking I was dead. Somehow I found my way home. My wife called an ambulance and I was rushed to hospital.”
He said his mobile phone had a tracker and they managed to track the person who had started using it.
“Police arrested the suspect who is called Emmanuel Tshuma and he implicated someone called Simbarasi Makoni as the person who sold him the phone. Police set a trap for Simbarasi and caught him with a friend of his. I immediately recognised Simbarasi as one of the people who had attacked me,” said Gwayi.
He added: “Simbarasi said his friend was not involved in the issue, but the friend ran away as they were being led to the police car. A court date was supposed to be set on Tuesday. However, Simbarasi changed his statement and said he got the phone from his friend who ran away. Buhlalu then set Simbarasi free and said police should arrest his friend first.”
Gwayi said Buhlalu’s statement did not make sense to him as he had already identified his assailant as Simbarasi, who in turn admitted he was the one who sold the mobile phone to Tshuma.
“I think this is a miscarriage of justice. So if this other friend is arrested and implicates someone else, shall we have to wait for the entire chain to be arrested?” he asked.
Buhlalu, however, said Simbarasi had not been set free and the case was not over.
“I explained to Gwayi that his case was weak. If it went to court as it stood, the accused might be acquitted. If that happens and his accomplice is arrested at a later date and points a finger at Simbarasi, the law will not allow us to retry Simbarasi,” said Buhlalu.
He added: “Gwayi said when he was assaulted, it was dark. Simbarasi was not identified at a police parade, among other suspects. It would be difficult to prove in court that he was really one of the assailants. The logical thing would be to arrest his accomplice so all parties go to court and all arguments are heard.”
Online Reporter