10 state witnesses caused a scene at the Bulawayo High Court

A GROUP of about 10 state witnesses caused a scene at the Bulawayo High Court yesterday when they charged at a prosecutor handling their case and threatened to assault her.

The angry witnesses were supposed to testify in the trial of Jabulani Ndlovu (34) whose image was allegedly captured on closed circuit television (CCTV) while killing and robbing a security guard at a company in Bulawayo's Thorngrove industrial area.

The trial, which was supposed to have started yesterday, failed to kick off due to legal technicalities emanating from shoddy investigations by police.

The prosecutor, Mrs Sifiso Sibanda, drew the ire of the witnesses when she tried to explain why the case could not take off.

It appears the angry witnesses were not satisfied with the explanation given by Mrs Sibanda, triggering outbursts.

The witnesses, who are relatives to the slain security guard, Jabulani Madolo, turned emotional and started verbally attacking Mrs Sibanda and shoving her until police came to her rescue.

The angry group, comprising mostly women, shouted at the top of their voices as they left the court building.

Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Maxwell Takuva subsequently removed the matter from the roll.

The trial was shelved because of poor investigations by police. She said there was a missing chain of evidence, which rendered the state case useless and weak.