The High Court has blocked police from extracting blood samples from High Court judge Garainesu Mawadze’s 24-year-old son, Munyaradzi Junior Mawadze, who is accused of killing a cell phone dealer in 2020.
Munyaradzi (24) is jointly charged with Elvin Dongo Saungweme (24), and Dellon David Balani (24) all from Harare for the murder of Sipho Ncube.
The investigating officer in the case, Alexander Jachi, was given a warrant authorising him to extract blood samples from Munyaradzi by a Harare magistrate in June 2020, three months after Ncube’s murder.
However, justice Siyabona Musithu has invalidated the warrant which the judge said was wrongly issued.
Mawadze had argued that the section of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act used in issuing the warrant does not include the production of bodily tissues without the consent of the owner and the court upheld his argument. Ruled Justice Musithu:
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.
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.
According to the State, on 12 March 2020, the trio stabbed Ncube with a knife before slitting open his throat, killing him instantly.
They had lured the now-deceased to their car on the pretext that they wanted to seal a cellphone deal.
Ncube reportedly agreed to accompany the trio to Waterfalls and the accused diverted the route and drove along Chiremba Road passing Epworth and going towards Ruwa.
They reached a secluded place where they robbed Ncube of his cell phones and an unknown amount of cash and killed him before dumping his body in Ruwa.
The State further alleged that Mawadze sent a text message using Ncube’s cell phone alleging he had been kidnapped.
Detectives later recovered blood-soiled clothes from all the suspects and Mawadze’s car seat. | ZimLive