News / National
Court rules against SA pathologists at Mujuru inquest
30 Jan 2012 at 17:23hrs | Views
The coroner of the inquest into circumstances surrounding the death of the Retired General Solomon Tapfumaneyi Mujuru, Regional Magistrate Walter Chikwanha has temporarily ruled against the introduction of a South African pathologist.
The inquest entered Day 10 this Monday.
In his ruling, Walter Chikwanha said according to the provisions from Section six Subsection 3 of the Inquest Act, he had subpoenaed all witnesses the court saw fit to bring clarity to the death inquest.
He added that amongst these experts is a local pathologist who carried out the actual post-mortem on the charred remains largely believed to be those of the late Retired General, and he is yet to testify.
He also said it is more pertinent to consider tangible evidence from the local pathologist who conducted the post-mortem there after the Mujuru family lawyer can justify the requirements of a second opinion, but this does not stop the family from calling him in to question the first expert on his findings.
After his interim ruling, Clemence Chimbare, the State prosecutor from the Attorney General's office introduced the 32nd witness, Mr. Bethwell Takunda Mutandiro, the Director of Forensic Science in the Ministry of Home Affairs who was in charge of the collection of all relevant forensic evidence from the fire scene.
Mr. Mutandiro told the court how they had reconstructed the crime scene by dividing it into zones to allow for the collection of vital evidence which could assist them in identifying the source of the fire and the identity of the accused.
He said from the global observation he had conducted with his team, they had detected the burning pattern and the fire had been most intense from the main bedroom, where it had spread into the mini lounge and the main lounge as evidenced by the level of destruction within these rooms.
After his narration, he further revealed that they had collected debris from the potential source points of the fire and the immediate surroundings and flesh samples from the charred remains as well as blood from Kumbirai Mujuru which were taken to South Africa for advanced analysis.
He indicated that their findings were that no explosive residues were found from the debris, meaning that the fire did not start as a result of explosives; no accelerants were found at the scene, indicating that no liquids or solids were used to propagate the fire, and finally that the DNA profile results of the deceased and Kumbirai Mujuru produced a 99.99% probability of paternity.
He added that from the debris they had discovered molten glass which is physical evidence that the fire had reached over 520% at one point. He then concluded that owing to the unavailability of evidence of the cause of the fire, they had failed to establish the source of the fire.
After the Mujuru family lawyer and members had quizzed the forensic expert on many hazy areas requiring clarity, it was agreed that the inquest adjourns until Thursday the 2nd of February when the forensic scientists from South Africa who carried out tests on the debris are expected to testify.
The inquest entered Day 10 this Monday.
In his ruling, Walter Chikwanha said according to the provisions from Section six Subsection 3 of the Inquest Act, he had subpoenaed all witnesses the court saw fit to bring clarity to the death inquest.
He added that amongst these experts is a local pathologist who carried out the actual post-mortem on the charred remains largely believed to be those of the late Retired General, and he is yet to testify.
He also said it is more pertinent to consider tangible evidence from the local pathologist who conducted the post-mortem there after the Mujuru family lawyer can justify the requirements of a second opinion, but this does not stop the family from calling him in to question the first expert on his findings.
After his interim ruling, Clemence Chimbare, the State prosecutor from the Attorney General's office introduced the 32nd witness, Mr. Bethwell Takunda Mutandiro, the Director of Forensic Science in the Ministry of Home Affairs who was in charge of the collection of all relevant forensic evidence from the fire scene.
He said from the global observation he had conducted with his team, they had detected the burning pattern and the fire had been most intense from the main bedroom, where it had spread into the mini lounge and the main lounge as evidenced by the level of destruction within these rooms.
After his narration, he further revealed that they had collected debris from the potential source points of the fire and the immediate surroundings and flesh samples from the charred remains as well as blood from Kumbirai Mujuru which were taken to South Africa for advanced analysis.
He indicated that their findings were that no explosive residues were found from the debris, meaning that the fire did not start as a result of explosives; no accelerants were found at the scene, indicating that no liquids or solids were used to propagate the fire, and finally that the DNA profile results of the deceased and Kumbirai Mujuru produced a 99.99% probability of paternity.
He added that from the debris they had discovered molten glass which is physical evidence that the fire had reached over 520% at one point. He then concluded that owing to the unavailability of evidence of the cause of the fire, they had failed to establish the source of the fire.
After the Mujuru family lawyer and members had quizzed the forensic expert on many hazy areas requiring clarity, it was agreed that the inquest adjourns until Thursday the 2nd of February when the forensic scientists from South Africa who carried out tests on the debris are expected to testify.
Source - zbc
