HARARE – The High Court has barred the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) from extracting blood samples from High Court judge Garainesu Mawadze’s 24-year-old son who is accused of killing a cell phone dealer in 2020.
Munyaradzi Jnr Mawadze is accused of murdering Sipho Ncube and is jointly charged with Elvin Dongo Saungweme, 24, and Dellon David Balani, 24 all from Harare.
Alexander Jachi, the investigating officer in the case, was given a warrant authorising him to do so by a Harare magistrate in June 2020, three months after Ncube’s murder.
But justice Siyabona Musithu has invalidated the warrant which the judge said was wrongly issued.
The court upheld Mawadze’s argument that the section of Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act used in issuing the warrant does not include production of bodily tissues without consent of the owner.
“On his part, the third respondent (the magistrate) just issued the warrant without paying much attention to the quoted sections of the law to determine if they really applied to the application before him,” said the judge.
“This kind of intention to detail is so gross and cannot be countenanced by this court.
“In view of the foregoing observations, the only inescapable conclusion this court can reach is that the warrant was not issued in accordance with the law.
“That makes it irregular and consequently invalid. There is no warrant that the applicant is expected to comply with.
“In light of these findings, it becomes unnecessary for this court to interrogate the other grounds for review which were premised on the supposition that the warrant of search and seizure was valid.”
Mawadze had argued that he did not see any relevance for the extraction of his blood samples in his case.
He submitted that his blood samples were of little significance to the investigations since the police already had samples taken from the deceased which could be matched against the blood stains found in his clothes or from the car seat.
On the other hand, the IO argued that Mawadze could not attempt to pre-empt what his investigations sought to achieve.
He said Mawadze’s samples were required for comparison purposes as set out in his deposition accompanying his application to the magistrate.
The officer said it was his duty to find evidence in building up his case but his arguments did not find favour with the superior court.
Mawadze stands accused of murdering Ncube on March 12 2020 .
It is the state’s case that the trio allegedly stabbed Ncube with a knife before slitting open his throat, killing him instantly.
According to the state, the suspects purportedly lured the now deceased to their car on the pretext of conducting a cell phone deal.
The three allegedly drove away and killed Ncube before dumping his body in Ruwa.
Ncube agreed to accompany the trio to Waterfalls and the accused diverted the route and drove along Chiremba Road passing Epworth going towards Ruwa.
While along Chiremba Road, they reached a secluded place where they robbed Ncube of his cell phones and an unknown amount of cash.
Ncube’s relatives became suspicious when he failed to return home and filed a police report on the same date.
Court further heard that in order to cover up for the murder, Mawadze sent a text message using Ncube’s cell phone alleging he had been kidnapped.
Blood-soiled clothes were later recovered from all the suspects and Mawadze’s car seat.
