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Tendai Rupapa Senior Court Reporter—

A police officer, who is facing attempted murder charges for allegedly scalding his wife with water following a misunderstanding over meat, has been denied bail.

Simbarashe Sibanda, who is stationed at Borrowdale Police Station, Harare, was advised to approach the High Court for bail issues.

This was after he unsuccessfully challenged his placement on remand.

When Sibanda was brought to court, he was being charged with “physical abuse” in contravention of the Domestic Violence Act, but when he appeared before magistrate Mrs Rumbidzai Mugwagwa on Wednesday, the State had altered his charge to attempted murder.

Through his lawyer Mr Madotsa, Sibanda then made an application challenging his placement on remand.

Mr Madotsa argued that placing his client on remand on a charge he was not aware of was a violation of his Constitutional rights.

He added that Sibanda was detained in respect of charges of physical abuse according to his warned and cautioned statement, before the State changed the charge without informing or warning or cautioning him.

In response, prosecutor Miss Ropafadzo Botch opposed the application and told the court that they altered the charge after seeing the degree of the burns the complainant  sustained.

The court ruled in favour of the State and dismissed Sibanda’s application, whose wife is also a police officer.

Mrs Mugwagwa said since the circumstances leading to the offence were not changed, there was no reason to remove Sibanda from remand.

He was remanded to July 10.

Miss Botch alleged that on June 8 at around 5pm, Sibanda went home and realised that his wife had not prepared supper.

The court heard that only a pot with boiling water was on the stove and this did not go down well with Sibanda who then confronted his wife.

It is alleged that the complainant told her husband that there was no relish to prepare supper.

A misunderstanding ensued between the two and Sibanda reached for the boiling water and scalded his wife all over the body, it is alleged.

She sustained severe burns and was admitted in hospital for 11 days.