MILITARY intelligence officer Borman Ngwenya, who is facing charges of banditry, yesterday scored against the State, when his applications to be provided with the proof of ownership of Gushungo Dairy and records of calls made to a senior army official were granted.
by PAIDAMOYO MUZULU
Ngwenya is facing two charges of possession of weapons for banditry, insurgency or terrorism and money-laundering arising from an allegedly failed attempt to bomb President Robert Mugabe’s Gushungo Dairy last month.
In granting the applications, Harare magistrate Fadzai Mthombeni said the accused was facing serious charges that if found guilty, he could be jailed for life, thus he should be afforded the opportunity to adequately defend himself.
“The issue of ownership of the property (Gushungo Dairy) is important and the State should serve the defence with these documents,” she ruled.
The defence, led by Musindo Hungwe and Exactly Mangezi, had argued that it was improper for their client to be charged with banditry or sabotage in relation to attempting to bomb a private property.
The court further granted the defence application to have Econet and NetOne release the call records of mobile phone nubers 0777 092 200 and 071 680 0343 respectively.
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Mthombeni also granted Ngwenya’s application to have the State provide him with the warned-and-cautioned statements of Solomon Makumbe and Silas Pfupa in the treason charge he is jointly charged with them.
He argued their statements are crucial to his defence.
The magistrate ordered prosecutor Michael Reza to ensure that Ngwenya’s defence counsel was served with all these documents, before the trial commences on March 7, 2015.
Mthombeni said the application on the splitting of charges would only be dealt with at trial, after the State had led its evidence and the court would make a decision.
