News / Regional
MDC-T MP in court on culpable homicide charge
29 Aug 2012 at 04:54hrs | Views
GOKWE-KABUNYUNI Member of the House of Assembly Costin Muguti (MDC-T) has appeared in court facing four charges including culpable homicide and driving a car without a licence. Muguti (42), of Gonga Village, Chief Nemangwe, Gokwe, was not formally charged when he briefly appeared before Gokwe resident magistrate Mr Shepherd Mjanja on 14 August.
Mr Mjanja, on 16 August dismissed his application for bail pending trial, and remanded him in custody.
Dismissing his application for bail, the magistrate ruled that the police needed more time to complete their investigations especially to establish where the car was taken for panel-beating after the alleged offences.
It was also the court's ruling that the State needed more time to complete investigations into the cases.
Muguti, through his lawyers Chitere, Chidawanyika and Partners represented by Dube-Tachiona and Tsvangirai Legal Practitioners then last week approached the High Court in Bulawayo to appeal against Mr Mjanja's decision to deny him bail.
Acting judge Justice Meshack Cheda last week on Friday dealt with the matter in his chambers.
Yesterday it was then announced that he had been granted $400 bail.
Muguti was ordered to reside in the village until the matter is finalised and the court also ordered him not to interfere with police investigations or witnesses named by the State.
He was further ordered to report once fortnightly to Gokwe Traffic Police on Fridays between 6 am and 6 pm until the trial is finalised.
Muguti has not been formally charged with three counts of contravening the Road Traffic Act and culpable homicide.
He had been in remand prison since his initial appearance on 14 August.
Muguti had through his lawyers argued that the magistrate erred by stating that the police needed time to complete investigations as it is trite law that police do not arrest in order to investigate.
He submitted that if there were any investigations that the police needed to conduct they should have done them immediately after the offences were committed or when he was in police custody since he was detained for six days before being taken to court.
Muguti had further urged the High Court to find in his favour that he handed himself over to the police and that there was no way he could interfere with witnesses and investigations into the case.
Mr Thompson Hove of the Attorney General's Office conceded that there was no cognisable indication that Muguti was likely to abscond adding that reporting conditions would clear such fears.
The State case is that on 31 July this year, Muguti was driving an Isuzu pick-up truck and at the 119 km peg along the Kwekwe-Gokwe Road, he allegedly knocked down a juvenile, Trevor Isaiah, killing him on the spot.
The State is alleging that he did not stop after the accident and did not report the accident to the police within 24 hours as stipulated in the Road Traffic Act.
On 8 August he handed himself over to Gokwe Traffic Police and the State alleges that he does not possess a valid driver's licence.
The Isuzu pick truck was later recovered from Lusulu area and police allege that it shows marks of an accident.
Mr Mjanja, on 16 August dismissed his application for bail pending trial, and remanded him in custody.
Dismissing his application for bail, the magistrate ruled that the police needed more time to complete their investigations especially to establish where the car was taken for panel-beating after the alleged offences.
It was also the court's ruling that the State needed more time to complete investigations into the cases.
Muguti, through his lawyers Chitere, Chidawanyika and Partners represented by Dube-Tachiona and Tsvangirai Legal Practitioners then last week approached the High Court in Bulawayo to appeal against Mr Mjanja's decision to deny him bail.
Acting judge Justice Meshack Cheda last week on Friday dealt with the matter in his chambers.
Yesterday it was then announced that he had been granted $400 bail.
Muguti was ordered to reside in the village until the matter is finalised and the court also ordered him not to interfere with police investigations or witnesses named by the State.
He was further ordered to report once fortnightly to Gokwe Traffic Police on Fridays between 6 am and 6 pm until the trial is finalised.
Muguti has not been formally charged with three counts of contravening the Road Traffic Act and culpable homicide.
He had been in remand prison since his initial appearance on 14 August.
Muguti had through his lawyers argued that the magistrate erred by stating that the police needed time to complete investigations as it is trite law that police do not arrest in order to investigate.
He submitted that if there were any investigations that the police needed to conduct they should have done them immediately after the offences were committed or when he was in police custody since he was detained for six days before being taken to court.
Muguti had further urged the High Court to find in his favour that he handed himself over to the police and that there was no way he could interfere with witnesses and investigations into the case.
Mr Thompson Hove of the Attorney General's Office conceded that there was no cognisable indication that Muguti was likely to abscond adding that reporting conditions would clear such fears.
The State case is that on 31 July this year, Muguti was driving an Isuzu pick-up truck and at the 119 km peg along the Kwekwe-Gokwe Road, he allegedly knocked down a juvenile, Trevor Isaiah, killing him on the spot.
The State is alleging that he did not stop after the accident and did not report the accident to the police within 24 hours as stipulated in the Road Traffic Act.
On 8 August he handed himself over to Gokwe Traffic Police and the State alleges that he does not possess a valid driver's licence.
The Isuzu pick truck was later recovered from Lusulu area and police allege that it shows marks of an accident.
Source - TC
