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Sheillah Mapani Herald Reporter
A 62-year-old Harare man yesterday appeared in court for allegedly giving a pistol to his friend who used it to commit suicide at a local hotel. Timothy Munetsi appeared before Harare magistrate Ms Nomsa Sabarauta facing charges of contravening Section 18(1) as read with Section 18(6) (a) of the Firearms Act Chapter 10:09 for unlawful transfer of a firearm.

The matter was rolled over to today as the State awaits a ballistic report from the investigating team. The prosecutor, Ms Francisca Mukumbiri alleged that Munetsi acquired a Bernadelli pistol serial number 13916.

He was issued a firearm certificate by the Controller of Firearms which authorised him to use the pistol for the purpose of protecting cash-in-transit. It is alleged that last Friday, Munetsi gave his pistol to Kudzai Machimbirike who had no firearm certificate which allowed him to possess a pistol.

The court heard that Machimbirike later committed suicide using the pistol in a local hotel. Police checked with the Central Firearms Registry and discovered that the pistol belonged to Munetsi.

The police also discovered that Munetsi’s Firearm certificate had expired on December 1, 2014 and was never renewed leading to his arrest.