The accused persons in this case are charged with three separate counts of murder, assault, and arson. These three counts arise from events which took place in 2000 at Nehanda Resettlement Village, Madziwa.
All five accused pleaded not guilty to the charges against them when trial commenced in December 2006.
At the resumption of the trial, in July 2007, the court was advised that the first accused (Yomence Chaitezvi) had died on 4 of January 2007. This was later confirmed by an affidavit deposed to by his brother.
The trial duly proceeded on the same charges as against the remaining four accused who were now represented by different counsel....,.
State Evidence
At the beginning of its case, the State produced, by consent, the post-mortem report of Dr. Mutamba, dated 8 May 2000 [exhibit 1].
In essence, the report shows that the deceased, Peter Karidza, died as a result of a head injury from the assault perpetrated upon him on the fatal day.
At a later stage, the evidence of Vincent Kambanga, and that of Dr. Mutamba, as contained in the State Summary of Evidence, was also admitted by consent.
Vennas Chimangemange is the deceased's widow.
She testified, that, on the night of 23 April 2000, a group of people gathered outside her homestead chanting political songs. They then began to throw stones at the main house and eventually torched the main house as well as the surrounding structures. At the same time, they called out for the deceased.
When she and the deceased went outside they were attacked by some of the men in the group.
At that point, the first accused (Yomence Chaitezvi) tried to verbally restrain the assailants and took the witness away to the back of the house. Therefore, she could not say whether any of the other accused were present or involved in assaulting the deceased.
When she returned to the front of the house, after about 30 to 45 minutes, she found that the deceased had been severely beaten. The main four-roomed house and five other structures had been destroyed by stones and fire. All the domestic furniture, utensils, and equipment was also destroyed.
The deceased passed away at about 5:00am on the following morning.
Molline Chimangemange is the deceased's daughter.
Her testimony was similar to that of her mother as regards the general picture of what transpired on the night in question. However, her evidence was that she actually saw the first accused (Yomence Chaitezvi) and the second accused (Notice Kida) each strike the deceased once before the others in the group joined the attack.
She was able to see what happened and positively identify the assailants because of the burning huts.
She did not see the third accused (Obert Muchemwa) or the fourth accused (Zvidzayi Marufu) at the scene of the attack. However, she did see the fifth accused (Jacob Kagogoda) running around encouraging the assault, but did not witness him actually assaulting the deceased or causing any fires.
The witness was present throughout the duration of the attack.
The group consisted of about 100 men and about 40 of them took part in the assault.
The deceased eventually lay on the ground after being assaulted for about 30 minutes. The first accused (Yomence Chaitezvi) then told the others to stop.
Savory Hodza was, at the relevant time, the Chizinga District Chairman of the ZANU-PF youth wing. All five accused were office-bearers in the political party in various branches which fell under Hodza's command.
He testified, that, on the night in question, he met and drank beer with the deceased at Muzivi Growth Point. He heard that the second accused (Notice Kida) had planned a meeting at which the deceased was to be summoned. He warned the deceased who then ran away.
On his way home, he passed by Nehanda Village and saw a group of about 50 people, including the second accused (Notice Kida), who had gathered for a “pungwe” about 300 metres from the deceased's homestead. Further along the road he encountered two more groups, of about 50 and 20 people respectively, who were also going to the 'pungwe'. The first group included the first accused (Yomence Chaitezvi) and the second group included the fourth accused (Zvidzayi Marufu).
When Savory Hodza arrived home, about 2 to 3 kilometres away, he saw fires burning over Nehanda Village. Although he was fairly drunk, he walked towards the village. About 300 metres away from the deceased's homestead he observed that all the groups had dispersed.
The witness was arrested as a suspect on the following morning but was later released after recording his statement to the police.
According to Savory Hodza, the second accused (Notice Kida), third accused (Obert Muchemwa) and fourth accused (Zvidzayi Marufu) wanted his position in the party and therefore resented him. They had arranged the gathering in question without his authority and knowledge.
Under cross-examination, he admitted that he had been convicted for public violence and sentenced to 30 months imprisonment in respect of another offence involving political violence in the same area.
Detective Sergeant Nemaisa is a member of the Zimbabwe Republic Police. He was based in Bindura in April 2000.
On 25 April 2000, he was tasked to record warned and cautioned statements from four suspects, namely, the first accused (Yomence Chaitezvi), second accused (Notice Kida), third accused (Obert Muchemwa) and Savory Hodza.
He met the three accused for the first time at that stage.
They corroborated Savory Hodza's statement that he was not present at the scene of the attack and that he knew nothing about it. Each of the three accused was then allowed to write his own statement in three separate rooms. At that time, each accused was unguarded and not handcuffed. Detective Sergeant Nemaisa then confirmed their statements in Shona and translated them into English. Thereafter, the statements were given to the accused to read before they were signed and witnessed.
In their statements, the three accused admitted the charge of having murdered the deceased.
After Detective Sergeant Nemaisa's evidence-in-chief, the warned and cautioned statements of the first (Yomence Chaitezvi), second (Notice Kida) and third accused (Obert Muchemwa) (exhibits 2, 3 and 4) were admitted by consent, subject to challenge under cross-examination.
When cross-examined, Detective Sergeant Nemaisa confirmed that the three accused had understood and signed their respective statements freely and voluntarily and without any duress whatsoever. Moreover, he did not see any visible signs of the accused having been assaulted, nor did they complain of having been assaulted by other police officers.
Inspector Absai Muchemedzi testified that he was involved in attending the scene of the attack on the morning after. He found the body of the deceased covered in bruises and observed that some of the structures at the homestead had been burnt or otherwise damaged. Certain suspects were arrested later that day but he could not recall any of them other than the first accused (Yomence Chaitezvi).
The warned and cautioned statements of the fourth (Zvidzayi Marufu) and fifth (Jacob Kagogoda) accused were compiled and signed over nine (9) months later, in the presence of different police officers who were not called to testify.
These statements were therefore not adduced or admitted in evidence.
Evidence for the Defence
The second accused (Notice Kida) used to reside in Nehanda Village and was a ZANU-PF cell chairman in April 2000.
His evidence was that it was Savory Hodza, in his capacity as the District Chairman, who had convened the ZANU-PF members from the surrounding villages to attend the gathering at the deceased's homestead. He disagreed with Savory Hodza's mission as he knew the deceased as a village elder and because there was a strong probability that violence would occur. Therefore, he and the other Nehanda Village members dispersed to go home, having been told to do so by Hodza.
On his way home, he observed flames emanating from the deceased's homestead. On the following morning, he and the third accused (Obert Muchemwa) were arrested by the police.
When cross examined, Notice Kida accepted that 2000 was a very politically charged year and that the ZANU-PF youth wing was an important element in strengthening the party's base. At that time, it was unheard of that anyone in the locality should belong to the opposition MDC party.
The third accused (Obert Muchemwa) was a senior official of ZANU-PF in the Chizinga District.
His testimony was that from 21 and 24 April 2000 he was attending his father-in-law's memorial service at Batsinarayi Village, about 12 kilometres away from Nehanda Village. He only returned to Nehanda Village on the morning of 24 April, together with his wife and child. He was not aware of Savory Hodza's plan to visit the deceased at his homestead. He was arrested by the police because he was the ZANU-PF political leader in Nehanda Village.
He and Notice Kida were taken to the scene of the attack where he was assaulted for arguing with the police.
The deceased's wife identified Savory Hodza and Yomence Chaitezvi as the perpetrators of the assault upon the deceased. They were both arrested but Hodza was given preferential treatment and was not detained.
Under cross-examination, he accepted that he was not assaulted at the police station and that his arrested colleagues did not complain to him of having been assaulted. Again, he was not assaulted at the time that he signed his warned and cautioned statement, but he denied having read his statement before signing it. As this was the first time that he had been arrested he did not appreciate the significance of signing the statement.
When questioned by the Court, he stated that he had attained 8 “O” Levels in 1990 and a Certificate in Tobacco Culture in 1996 or 1997.
Juliet Kaingidza resides at Batsinarayi Village and is Obert Muchemwa's sister-in-law.
She endeavoured to corroborate Obert Muchemwa's version of his having attended her father's memorial service at her village from 21 to 24 April 2000. However, she contradicted him in one material respect – by stating, with certainty, that he left the village on 24 April on his own and without his wife and child. Moreover, although she could recall exactly the date and time of Obert Muchemwa's departure, she could not remember the month or year when her father had died.
The fourth accused (Zvidzayi Marufu) was an official in the Chitepo Branch of ZANU-PF.
According to him, it was Savory Hodza who directed him to mobilise the members from Chitepo Village. When they arrived at Nehanda Village, he met Yomence Chaitezvi, Notice Kida and Savory Hodza, together with 120 to 150 party members, gathered on a hill approximately 300 to 400 metres away from the deceased's homestead.
He deduced that Savory Hodza was drunk and that his plan to confront the deceased as an MDC sympathiser would probably entail violence.
Zvidzayi Marufu then told the Chitepo members to return to their village and returned home himself soon thereafter. He was surprised the following morning when he heard about the attack on the deceased and his homestead. He was arrested about nine months later.
He signed his warned and cautioned statement after being threatened and slapped by the police.
The fifth accused (Jacob Kagogoda) was also an official in the Chitepo Branch of ZANU-PF.
He testified, that, at the time of the attack on the deceased, he was in bed suffering from malaria. He was under medication and unable to walk. He was arrested much later, in January 2001.
After his warned and cautioned statement was recorded he was assaulted by three police officers. He then signed the statement without having read it....,.
Findings - Assault and Arson
As for the arson charge, such evidence as was presented was not specific as to what property was destroyed and which accused, if any, was responsible for such destruction.
