Fidelis Munyoro — Chief Court Reporter
THE trial of Bindura lawyer Elatone Bonongwe, who s accused of masterminding a robbery that saw his accomplices stealing over US$30,000 worth of property and cash from a Bindura home, opened at the High Court in Harare yesterday.
Bonongwe is jointly charged with Musa Gandi, Agnes Kunaka, Tafadzwa Chipashu, Justin James and Terrence Musingwini. They all denied the robbery charge when their trial began before Justice Pisirayi Kwenda, sitting with two assessors.
Through his lawyer, Mr Prince Ganya, Bonongwe denied hatching a plan to rob Engineer Emson Chitsungo, Tinotenda Bhunu and Ethan Chitsungo as alleged by the State.
He claimed that he was being victimised for allegedly making a police report against Wisdom Kundishora for corruption involving Pfura Rural District Council stands. His co-defendants, who are also legally represented, also denied the charge.
Bonongwe's bid to remain on bail until the verdict failed after Justice Kwenda remanded him in custody through the automatic cancellation of bail when a criminal trial starts at the High Court.
Once the High Court trial commences, a suspect's bail is terminated by operation of law to reduce chances of abscondment.
Mr Ganya opposed the State application seeking to revoke Bonongwe's bail. He tried to persuade the judge not to invoke the provisions of the law to terminate his client's bail citing a case in which he was involved. In that case, his client had not absconded, but the co-accused did and cannot be located.
So, the case he cited ironically showed that the courts should be slow to exercise their discretion in favour of liberating persons whose trials have started in the High Court.
Section 169 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act provides that if the accused person is indicted in the High Court after having been admitted to bail, his plea to the indictment shall, unless the court otherwise directs, have the effect of terminating his bail, and shall thereupon be detained in custody until the conclusion of the trial in the same manner in every respect as if he had not been admitted to bail.
Prosecutor Mr Garudzo Ziyaduma told the court that October 15 last year, Bonongwe hatched a plan to rob Eng Chitsungo. He communicated this to Gandi over the cellphone informing him of this plan and subsequently tasked Gandi to assemble a team to carry out the mission.
On October 25, the accused teamed up with Munýaradzi Denga and a person called Tsano, and travelled from Harare to Mt Darwin in a Toyota Sienta registration number AGD 3196.
Chipashu was driving and the team was armed with two sharp iron bars and an AK 47 bayonet knife. The court heard that throughout the journey, Gandi would update Bonongwe on their location. Upon their arrival at a service station in Mt Darwin, the accused met up with Bonongwe who briefed them on the task and led them to Eng Chitsungo's house.
And on October 26 around midnight, the team went to his house where four of them scaled a precast wall. Some of them remained in the car which was parked about 100 metres away from the house.
After gaining entry into the yard, the gang encountered Tinotenda Bhunu whom they hit with a pavement brick and undressed him and tied both his hands and legs at his back with a wire and shoelaces before assaulting him with iron bars.
It is alleged that they carried him to the kitchen door and covered him with a room mat. After breaking down the kitchen door, the gang went to a room where Irene Jongi and Yolanda Nyamujara were sleeping. The robbers took their cellphones and force-marched the pair into the corridor and forced them to lie facing down.
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One of them went to Ethan Chitsungo's (13) bedroom, assaulted him and forced him to lie down in the corridor. Mr Ziyaduma alleged that two members of the gang entered Eng Chitsungo's bedroom where they forced him to lie on the floor facing downwards. They tied both his hands and legs at his back with a wire and started demanding money.
It is alleged that Eng Chitsungo said he only had US$400 and the gang started assaulting him with a sharp iron bar on his collarbone, his back, and his feet. He was kicked in the face several times. They then plugged in an electrical iron and started burning his buttocks.
The other accused persons started ransacking the house. They fled with valuables and cash worth about US$30,000. Bhunu managed to untie himself and sneaked out of the house through a window.
He went to the police who arrived after the gang had fled the scene. The accused were apprehended at a roadblock in Mazowe on their way to Harare.
