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Court Reporter

The State in the murder trial of armed robber Musa Taj Abdul and eight others on Monday closed its case and the defence is expected to apply for discharge of the suspects at the end of this week.

After the defence application for discharge, presiding judge Justice Munamato Mutevedzi makes a ruling on February 17.

If the court rules in favour of the State then Taj Abdul along with Elisha Manhanga, Prince Makodza, Liberty Mupamhanga, Rudolph Kanhanga, Innocent Jairos, Tapiwa Mangoma, Godfrey Mupamhanga, Charles Lundi will be put on their defence.

They are all accused of murdering Mr Courage Ingwani during an armed robbery at his Southview Park home in Harare, on October 18, 2020.

The burden of proof in a criminal trial rests on the State, which has to prove beyond any reasonable doubt that the accused caused the death of the deceased.

In this case, the State has to provide ample evidence to secure conviction of the nine and apart from the State witnesses’ testimonies and exhibits produced in court the record of the previous conviction for possessing the alleged murder weapon linking the gang to the murder is additional evidence.

The gang was earlier this year tried and convicted on a charge of illegal possession of the firearm, being the same weapon that was used to shoot Mr Ingwani.

The nine men were arrested separately in Beitbridge and were found in possession of a Vector pistol which through ballistics was matched to the cartridges found at Mr Ingwani’s house and at the scene of a Concession robbery.

They are all denying the charge of murder, claiming they were elsewhere when the crime took place.

While the witnesses could not positively identify the masked gang members that raided Mr Ingwani’s house and killed him, the prosecution built its case on linking the gang to the weapon used and other evidence.

But the defence team sought to cast doubt that the man killed during the robbery was shot by any robbers by suggesting that the late Mr Ingwani could have accidentally shot himself given the nature of the injury he sustained, coupled with the angle on which he was holding his firearm at the time he shot at the                                                                             intruders.

It also sought to link State witness Mr Simon Mutaringe, who was providing security services at the raided house, to the offence by suggesting he was working with the robbery gang that assaulted Mr Ingwani’s house.

A jerry can that was produced in court during the trial allegedly linked the gang to a spate of armed robberies.

A victim of armed robbery in Concession positively identified a jerry can which had his initials at the bottom.