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Yeukai Karengezeka
Court Correspondent
The trial of five South African-based suspected hitmen who attempted to kidnap and assault a local businessman resumed last Friday with the prosecution leading evidence from digital forensics personnel who uncovered some incriminating evidence against the accused.
The court heard that in March 2024, Obrian Obert Mapurisa allegedly hired Moses Mhonde, Malvin Manzinde, Malvin Tatenda Nyamuranga, Norbert Muponda and Joshua Mapuranga to kill Oliver Tendai Chipindu whom he had defrauded US$800 000 in a botched fuel tanks deal.
Prosecutor Mr Ephraim Zinyandu led Avelone Mdunyiswa Ndlovu, a digital forensics examiner from the ZRP Cyber Laboratory
Ndlovu revealed that she extracted data from a Samsung Galaxy phone and found WhatsApp messages sent between the accused and a contact saved as ‘Boss Whitewalker’, believed to be Mapurisa.
The screenshots of the conversations and audio recordings were extracted from the phone. They were screened and played in court.
However, during cross-examination, the court heard that Ndlovu was not able to determine which one of the accused persons was the one conversing in the chats with the suspected mastermind of the crime.
In their defense outline, the accused persons denied the charges, with the first and second accused persons also disputing the conversations retrieved from the cellphone.
They also denied possessing pistols and traveling from South Africa to Zimbabwe to commit the offense.
The accused claimed that the first State witness, Benard Chiweshe, set them up.
They said Chiweshe misrepresented to Chipindu that they had been hired to kill him.
Online Reporter