17 years in jail for trying to gun down police officer

A 28-year-old man has been sentenced to 17 years in jail for a crime he committed two years ago, Edmore Mungenje was on Monday convicted on two counts of attempted murder and one count of illegal possession of a firearm.

The court suspended three years of the sentence on condition of good behaviour, leaving Mungenje to serve an effective 14-year jail term.

Prosecutor Mike Tembo told the court that on April 28 2009, Mungenje was approached by a Mutare police detective who wanted him in connection with several counts of armed robberies which had occurred in the city.

Mungenje pulled out an FN Baby Brown pistol and shot at the police officer hitting him on the neck and fled.

The injured detective was rushed to hospital where the bullet was later removed after an operation.

On the second count which occurred on the same day, Mungenje fired three shots at another police detective as he tried to evade arrest.

The third count was that of illegal possession of a firearm which Mungenje used in the attempted murder charges and other armed robberies which happened around Mutare.

Mungenje was sentenced to nine years on the first count and seven years on the second count of attempted murder.

The court slapped him with a 12-month jail term for possession of an unlicenced firearm.

In passing sentence, the magistrate said a lengthy custodial sentence was appropriate to ensure society was protected from people who menacingly roamed the streets with unlicensed firearms.

He said the judicial system had an obligation to protect law enforcements agents from dangerous criminals such as Mungenje.