Court rejects killer's freedom bid

A Harare court yesterday rejected an appeal for freedom by a convicted murderer Jonathan Mutsinze who sought to be freed by the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) on claims that he was never convicted and that his court record was missing.

The ConCourt reversed the case to the High Court for the reconstruction of the missing record and imposition of an appropriate sentence, according to a Herald report.

Mutsinze was arrested for murdering a police officer and a security guard during a robbery.
His court record went missing around 2003 just after his conviction and he spent 11 years in remand prison awaiting sentence.

When the matter resurfaced in 2013, Mutsinze shifted the goal- posts and argued that he was never convicted and that the court file disappeared just before judgment was pronounced.

However, a Harare court then confirmed that indeed Mutsinze was a convict although the judgment could not be found.

He was now seeking permanent stay of prosecution on the basis of an inordinate delay and unavailability of the court record a Harare court yesterday snubbed his application and remitted the case to the High Court.