HIGH Court judge Justice Joseph Musakwa yesterday deferred the verdict on jailed RMG Independent End Time Message Church leader Robert Martin Gumbura’s application for bail pending appeal after it emerged some portions of the evidence were missing from the court record.
BY CHARLES LAITON SENIOR COURT REPORTER
Gumbura, who is serving an effective 40-year jail term for sexually abusing female congregants, submitted a 1 000-page application through his lawyers, claiming the trial magistrate had misdirected himself in coming up with the conviction and sentence. The jailed cleric’s lawyers are Advocate Thembinkosi Magwaliba and Rekai Maposa.
However, the State has insisted that the sentence was appropriate and urged the court to dismiss the application.
Justice Musakwa told the court that some portions of evidence, in particular by Gumbura and some witnesses, were missing from the court record.
The matter was postponed to Friday next week in order to allow the defence team to correct the anomaly.
