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Yeukai Karengezeka-Court Correspondent

A Harare man who caused a traffic jam on Monday when he parked his vehicle at an intercession in the capital and started beating a drum yesterday appeared in court.

Itayi Uthant Makombe (51) who is facing unlawful possession of a firearm and disorderly conduct or alternatively contravening road traffic regulations pleaded guilty to both charges when he appeared before Harare magistrate Mr Simon Kandiyero.

Prosecuting, State led by Ms Miriro Motovo told the court that on June 5, at around 6am Makombe parked his Land Rover Defender at the intersection of Josiah Tongogara Avenue and Second Street Harare.

He disembarked from the vehicle, climbed on its canopy and sat on a folding chair while wrapping himself with a blanket.

The court heard that he started playing an African drum and shouting in Shona language :

“Ambuya Nehanda vamuka, ropa zhinji rakadeuka uye richiri kudeuka” meaning “Nehanda has resurrected, a lot of blood has been spilt and still spilling”.

Then two police officers came to the scene and ordered Makombe to disembark from the vehicle and remove it from the intercession.

Police had to use minimum force to remove him from the vehicle and arrested him.

On the second count, on Tuesday police received information that Makombe was in possession of a firearm without a valid firearm certificate.

So acting on that information, Makombe led the police to his house where they recovered a black CZ Vzorpistol with a magazine of 9 by 7.65 mm calibre rounds stashed in a bag.

The firearm certificate expired on March 1 last year and he failed to renew it on time.

In mitigation, his lawyer had told the court that his client was depressed and drunk when he committed the offence.

“He had gone through a divorce and was in denial of what transpired and resultantly he decided to relieve himself from the stress by taking alcohol which caused him to act in that manner.

“He has learnt the hard way that social problems should be managed in a better way than what he did,” he said.

In the ruling, Mr Kandiyero said there was a need for Makombe to be examined if he is medically stable and remanded him in custody to June 21.

“Although the accused person in mitigation said he was drunk his behaviour and words on the day in question do not relate to his personal matters and as such there is need for him to be checked if he is mentally sound before l hand down my ruling,” he said.