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Chokuda murderers freed

News
MIDLANDS governor Jason Machaya’s son and his two accomplices were last Friday presented with an early Christmas gift after High Court judge Justice November Mtshiya granted them $1 000 bail each pending appeal after spending more than a year behind bars over the murder of Moses Chokuda in 2009.

MIDLANDS governor Jason Machaya’s son and his two accomplices were last Friday presented with an early Christmas gift after High Court judge Justice November Mtshiya granted them $1 000 bail each pending appeal after spending more than a year behind bars over the murder of Moses Chokuda in 2009.

REPORT BY CHARLES LAITON SENIOR COURT REPORTER

Farai Machaya (33) and his co-accused, the Gana brothers, Edmore (30) and Bothwell (28) were slapped with effective 18-year jail terms each by High Court judge Justice Nicholas Mathonsi who convicted them of murder last year.

But Justice Mtshiya ruled in favour of the trio after hearing arguments from both the State and defence.

Advocate Thabani Mpofu, who was representing the three argued that his clients were good candidates for bail as they had appealed against their conviction and sentence.

Mpofu further argued that before the sentencing of the three men, their constitutional rights had been violated when they could not be released after High Court Judge Justice Martin Makonese granted them bail.

He also argued that Justice Mathonsi misdirected himself when he convicted and sentenced them before the issue of identity was resolved.

The three had argued that no identification parade had been conducted to establish whether they were indeed the murderers or not.

Mpofu said there was a possibility that the case would be considered as culpable homicide and attract a lesser sentence.

Chokuda’s murder case made headlines after his body was kept at Gokwe District Hospital mortuary for two and-a-half years, with his family refusing to bury him until his alleged killers were brought to justice.

As a result, governor Machaya reportedly paid 20 head of cattle to Chokuda’s family and $15 000 as compensation. Chokuda was fatally assaulted after being accused of breaking into the governor’s shop in Gokwe.

The State was represented by Richard Chikosha from the Attorney-General’s Office.