STAR FM DJ Munyaradzi Milimo, who is accused of hiring “hit-men” to allegedly kill his wife’s boyfriend, yesterday challenged the magistrate after his application for further remand refusal was turned down.
CHARLES LAITON SENIOR COURT REPORTER
Milimo allegedly hired hitmen after Tinashe Magorimbo failed to pay him $5 000 as compensation for having an illicit affair with his wife.
Although Milimo and his alleged accomplices Taurai Janhi (35) and Mohammed Matare (32) were represented by a Harare lawyer Lucky Mauwa, the dismissal of his application by provincial magistrate Milton Serima, did not go down well with the DJ prompting him to challenge the court.
He raised his hand, apparently disregarding the presence of his attorney. Milimo then told the court that he wanted to be removed from remand since the court had made that undertaking when he appeared before it in December.
“When we appeared before you in December, we applied for refusal of further remand and you said we would be released today if there was not going to be a trial date from the State,” he said.
The magistrate then advised Milimo to speak through his lawyer. But the advice was not taken heed of as he continued to address the court.
“We were actually told that if the State failed to provide a trial date, we would be removed from remand and not remanded further and there was no mentioning of final notice,” he added.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
The magistrate then interjected and explained the court procedure to the DJ telling him that he (the court) had decided to give the State the final chance to deal with issues that were beyond its control.
The court, however, scrapped the remaining reporting condition after taking into account that Milimo and his co-accused persons had religiously attended court for two years without a trial date, but further remanded them to February 19 this year.
On Wednesday this week, the court heard that the South African government had refused to assist the Prosecutor-General’s (PG) Office in conducting toxicology tests to establish the cause of death of the late Magorimbo whose demise led to Milimo’s arrest.
In her submissions, prosecutor Sharon Mashavira told the court that the State had referred Milimo’s docket to the PG’s Office for preparation of indictment papers and therefore she wanted the matter to be deferred further for six weeks.
