John Nkomo aide faces arrest

THE Hwange Regional Court has issued a warrant of arrest for the late Vice-President Landa John Nkomo's security manager Eddie Sigoge after he failed to appear in court on Friday to face attempted murder charges.

Sigoge, a retired colonel, did not attend the court session with his lawyers, saying he was hospitalised at Mater Dei Hospital in Bulawayo where he was operated on last week.

Sigoge's lawyer, Tanaka Muganyi of Dube-Banda, Nzarayapenga and Partners told Chronicle: "My client was operated on and is ill. The judgment would likely be deferred because he is admitted."

Sigoge, 61, of Lobengula West in Bulawayo allegedly fired eight times at the family of businessman Langton Masunda and its friends at Lugo Ranch in Gwayi in 2009.

He would have known whether the magistrate would incarcerate him or find him not guilty during yesterday's scheduled appearance.

Sigoge claims he fired three warning shots in the air and Patrick Masunda, who was left for dead, was shot because he was advancing and was injured on both thighs and genitals.

He is facing eight counts of attempted murder and denies the charges, saying the Masunda brothers trespassed on the late VP's property.

Sigoge has an additional charge of possessing a firearm without a licence after it was discovered that the pistol he used belonged to his employer and had been registered in his (VP Nkomo)'s name for personal protection.

Langton was embroiled in a heated land dispute with the late VP Nkomo in the Gwayi Conservancy and VP Nkomo's twin sons Jabulani and Mzamo recently told the court that the property was theirs, with Jabulani testifying that he planned the attack.

Jabulani argued that Sigoge was justified to shoot because he had assigned him together with others to gather manpower to protect the farm and defend themselves as the Masundas had become a nuisance.

The Masunda brothers - Patrick, Benjamin, Robert and Langton, their worker Vincent Ganizani, Zenzo Siziba and Patrick Ndlovu allegedly left the farm in haste after Sigoge opened fire at them on May 9, 2009.

Testifying in court last month, Jabulani, who is the managing director of the Nkomo properties, produced a Supreme Court order of May 2012 to prove they owned the property.

The State dismissed the document, arguing that it did not corroborate with evidence in court as the incident occurred in 2009.

Prosecutor, Sifelumusa Fuzane, now retired, had told Jabulani that his evidence was hearsay and could not be relied on.

Mzamo told police investigators during an inspection in loco at the farm that workers woke up from a chalet they were sleeping in and found the Masundas, Ganizani, Siziba and Ndlovu advancing towards them.

He claims that Sigoge fired because the Masundas had removed property from Jijima Lodge and attempted to burn it.

Taking over from Fuzane, Tawanda Sigauke says Sigoge also shot at the car damaging its door as the Masundas fled.

It is said on the day the Masundas left Halfway Hotel along Bulawayo-Hwange Road at about 8PM in two cars going to Jijima Lodge owned by Langton.

When they arrived, Sigoge had already armed himself after hearing the sound of cars and fired a number of shots at Patrick, who had advanced towards a dark spot.

When other complainants noticed that their brother had been shot, the court heard, they rushed and picked him up.

Sigoge fired three more shots at a car where Patrick had been put and a bullet went through the door.

The car sped off with Patrick as he was rushed to hospital.

Nkomo, Sigoge and some workers were lying in ambush at Lugo Ranch to block the Masundas from occupying it.

A report was later made to the police leading to Sigoge's arrest.

Hwange regional magistrate Dambudzo Malunga is presiding over the Case.