Judge rebukes security guards against inflicting terror on members of the public

BULAWAYO High Court judge Justice Martin Makonese yesterday rebuked security guards and other security officers against inflicting terror on members of the public by taking the law into their own hands.

Justice Makonese who is on circuit in Hwange was making judgment in two separate murder cases.

The first case involved two members of the Neighbourhood Watch Committee who fatally assaulted a suspect with a baton on the way to a police station in Binga and another involved two men who were employed as security guards at Fatima High School farm.

Lembasi Muleya (43) and Rodgers Siakweka Mupande (44) in Chilamba area in Binga pleaded not guilty to murder.

The two were charged and convicted on their own pleas of guilty to a lesser charge of culpable homicide by Justice Makonese.

 "It is beyond the court's imagination why the accused attacked the deceased who was already handcuffed. You were members of the NWC and inflicted terror on the people you were supposed to protect thereby acting as outlaws," said Justice Makonese.

He said the court was mandated to meet the trust of members of the public by giving deterrent sentences to show that the justice system is not trivialised.

Muleya and Mupande were then sentenced to an effective eight years each in prison.

State counsel Whispher Mabhaudhi from the Attorney General's Office had also submitted that NWC members and were bound by the same code of conduct that is used by ZRP.

"The accused persons wanted to make an arrest for a simple case of assault which they ended up failing to do. They arrested the deceased for trying to interfere with justice but went on to assault him on the way to police station, that was callous," he said.

Mabhaudhi told the court how in April 2005 Muleya and Mupande assaulted Jikweendi Mupande to death accusing him of interfering with the course of justice.

The two had gone to arrest Robson Mupande at night for assaulting Shepherd Mupande and Jikweendi intervened because he was Robson's brother.

Jikweendi started bleeding from the nose and could not walk.

Muleya and Mupande spent the night in the bush trying to nurse Jikweendi who was still bleeding as a result of the assault.

In the morning the two tried to wake him but discovered that he was dead.

A report was made to the police.

In the case of Nobunzima Nyoni and Kholisani Ndlovu, Justice Makonese said the least the two could have done was take their victim to the police so that he could be taken to court.

Nyoni (37) and Ndlovu (33) fattaly assaulted Sikokiyana Ncube who was 400 at the time of his death in 2002 accusing him of stealing maize cobs from the farm.

They lay in ambush for Ncube who had left the bag of stolen maize so that he could collect it later and pounced on him.

The two struck him with an axe and logs until he lost consciousness and he died on the way to Mpilo Central Hospital.

"The circumstances in which this case was committed are disturbing.

You were farm guards and it was not your mandate to assault victims.

You did not take them to the police and court and in such a case the justice delivery system would be ineffective if you are forgiven.

"Anyone with a duty of guarding premises or property should take the suspects to court other than assaulting them as has become the norm. however, I will exercise some form of leniency that you were still young and immature when you committed the offence," said Justice Makonese.

Nyoni and Ndlovu were sentenced to an effective eight years after pleading to culpable homicide.

Tonderai Mukuku, of Mrondedze, Mukuku, Ndove and Partners represented the four pro deo.