All three accused..., are found guilty of the offence of conspiring to murder the deceased....,.All three accused are first offenders and breadwinners for their respective families. Their lengthy incarceration would certainly impact very badly on them and their families and may not serve to rehabilitate them. Moreover, after having undergone ...
All three accused..., are found guilty of the offence of conspiring to murder the deceased....,.
All three accused are first offenders and breadwinners for their respective families. Their lengthy incarceration would certainly impact very badly on them and their families and may not serve to rehabilitate them. Moreover, after having undergone three (3) months of pre-trial incarceration, they attended court regularly for the purpose of their trial and did not interfere with State witnesses.
Ordinarily, the crime of murder with legal or constructive intent attracts a relatively lengthy term of imprisonment.
As I have already indicated, the offence of conspiracy to murder is susceptible to the same penalty as applies to the principal offence.
In the instant case, however, the ordinary rules must be weighed against the inordinate and substantial delay in finalising this case.
The Court notes that the offence was committed in April 2000, almost 10 years ago, and that trial commenced in 2006 but was only concluded a few days ago because of the reasons outlined at the beginning of this judgment. The intervening delays were not occasioned by the accused but were entirely attributable to the State.
As was submitted by defence counsel, and conceded by State counsel, the accused have, over the past 10 years, undergone significant anguish. They have obviously agonised over their uncertain fate and the attendant psychological trauma constitutes a form of punishment in itself.
As against these mitigatory factors is the fact that the accused have been convicted of a very serious offence.
The attack on the deceased and his homestead took place at night and traumatised not only the deceased but also his entire family. Although the accused did not kill the deceased with their own hands, they conspired in conduct that entailed his death and did nothing to avert or alleviate that death.
Our courts have perennially declared that the sanctity of human life must be protected and preserved. Apart from the violent loss of life, the conduct of the accused is aggravated by the fact that it was politically motivated. In this context, it is especially incumbent upon the courts to make it abundantly clear that such conduct will not be favoured with impunity.
Sentence
In imposing sentence on the accused, it is necessary to have regard to the respective role and culpability of each accused.
Of the three accused, the second accused (Notice Kida) bears the greatest degree of culpability inasmuch as he not only circulated the letter convening the gathering but also participated directly in assaulting the deceased. The third accused (Obert Muchemwa) is less culpable as he was present but did not actively assault the deceased, while the fourth accused (Zvidzayi Marufu) is the least culpable having withdrawn from the planned attack at the last minute.
In the result, the accused are sentenced as follows:
(1) The second accused (Notice Kida) is sentenced to a term of 48 months imprisonment of which a period of 24 months imprisonment is suspended for 5 years on condition that he does not within that period commit any offence involving violence or bodily injury to another person and for which he is convicted and sentenced to a term of imprisonment without the option of a fine.
(2) The third accused (Obert Muchemwa) is sentenced to a term of 24 months imprisonment of which a period of 12 months imprisonment is suspended for 5 years on condition that he does not within that period commit any offence involving violence or bodily injury to another person and for which he is convicted and sentenced to a term of imprisonment without the option of a fine.
(3) The fourth accused (Zvidzayi Marufu) is sentenced to a term of 24 months imprisonment wholly suspended for 5 years on condition that he does not within that period commit any offence involving violence or bodily injury to another person and for which he is convicted and sentenced to a term of imprisonment without the option of a fine.
