A Chitungwiza woman, Plaxedes Mashasha, who is facing a charge of culpable homicide, was granted $50 000 bail by a magistrate.
Mashasha was arrested after she kept the decomposing body of her husband at her house for days without notifying authorities.
Last month, Chitungwiza regional magistrate Clever Tsikwa ordered that Mashasha be mentally examined and the medical report stated that she was fit to stand trial.
State prosecutor Pamela Dzinduwa had opposed her bail application saying the accused will cause public disorder and disturb the prevailing peace in her community if released.
Citing section 117(2)(b) of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act, Dzinduwa said:
<blockquote>
The circumstances of the case show that if she is released on bail, that might endanger her safety.
There has been public outcry over the matter, and it was on all social media platforms. So, to protect her, may the accused be denied bail.
</blockquote>
In his ruling, magistrate Tsikwa said the State failed to make convincing submissions to support its claims. He said:
<blockquote>
Whatever was said through social media isn’t before the court. The State didn’t submit that.
This court isn’t part of social media, and we don’t even know what it is happening. 
There must be evidence that she attempted to undermine or jeopardise the proper functioning of justice.
The accused isn’t standing here for murdering her husband, but for culpable homicide. It’s an offence based on negligence, not intention.
The matter is now before the courts, and whoever would harm her would be dealt with by the law. Therefore, she must be admitted to bail.
</blockquote>
Mashasha was also ordered to continue staying at her house in Zengeza 3 and will appear in court on 30 December for trial.
Besides allegedly keeping her husband’s body for days, Gogo Mashasha also allegedly kept her 39-year-old son, Grant Mashasha in the house for more than a decade. | <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/local-news/article/200005068/gogo-mashasha-granted-50-000-bail">NewsDay</a>

Pindula News

Gogo Mashasha Granted $50 000 Bail

Doctors have ruled that Plaxedes Mashasha (66) is mentally stable and fit to stand trial.
Mashasha allegedly kept the decomposing corpse of her late husband in the family house for several days until her arrest last month.
She is now facing culpable homicide charges.
Regional magistrate Clever Tsikwa had ordered that Mashasha be taken for mental examination.
Mashasha allegedly kept her 39-year-old son Grant Mashasha under custody in a room at their home for a decade. | <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/local-news/article/200004783/gogo-mashasha-mentally-stable-doctors">NewsDay</a>

Gogo Mashasha Fit For Trial - Doctors

A relative of Grant Mashasha said the 39-year-old man spent only four days in the ceiling of the family home in Zengeza 3, Chitungwiza, not the 14 years that have been widely reported in the media.
A family spokesperson, Nobuhle Mashasha, told <a href="https://www.hmetro.co.zw/thank-god-grant-is-now-on-the-mend-he-is-has-a-healthy-handsome-face-according-to-a-relative-l-he-hid-in-the-ceiling-after-being-told-some-people-were-after-his-life/">H-Metro</a> that Grant spent four days hiding in the ceiling and was afraid that someone was after his life.
Nobuhle also claimed that Grant slept on the sofa for 10 years confined to a room, and not 14 years. She said:
<blockquote>
We managed to meet and talk to Grant upon our arrival from Gwanda.
From how he looked on the day he was retrieved from the ceiling, Grant has changed completely, showing a healthy, handsome face.
He feels stressed to quickly open up about how he came to be kept indoors for 10 years.
He told us that he had been living in a room and slept on a sofa for 10 years, not 14, as reported.
He spent four days in the ceiling, frightened by his mother’s threats that there were people after his life.
He is beginning to understand that there is no one after his life and is now interacting with others.
He is still scared of answering some questions thinking that someone might still be targeting his life.
</blockquote>
Grant’s mother, Gogo Plaxedes Mashasha is in custody for failing to report the death of her husband.
Nobuhle said they read about the death of her grandfather in H-Metro, as her grandmother never informed anyone

"Grant Mashasha Spent 4 Days In The Ceiling, Not 10 Years"

Plaxedes Mashasha, an elderly woman from Zengeza 3, Chitungwiza, appeared in court on Thursday and was further remanded in custody to 9 December.
Mashasha is being accused of keeping her husband’s corpse in the house for about a week.
She also allegedly confined her son, Grant (39) to the ceiling of their house for the past 14 years.
Regional magistrate, Clever Tsikwa, said Mashasha must be tested for mental illness first before her bail application is heard.
Mashasha reportedly filed a sudden death report to the police and the cops discovered the body of her husband in a decomposing state.
She said her late husband suffered a stroke in 1992 and had been using a wheelchair until his death.
Mashasha said they had five children together and Grant was the fourth born.
| <a href="https://www.hmetro.co.zw/gogo-mashasha-to-spend-two-weeks-in-custody/">H-Metro</a>

Gogo Mashasha Latest News

Latest Jobs