A 42-YEAR-OLD Gokwe man appeared at the Harare Magistrates’ Court yesterday facing charges of illegally supplying an AK47 assault rifle and ammunition to suspected poachers in the Chirisa Game Reserve.

BY DESMOND CHINGARANDE

Obiat Shumba of Madzivazvido, Chief Chireya, appeared before magistrate Nomsa Sabarauta, who remanded him to today for bail ruling.

It is the State’s case that sometime between 2009 and 2012, Shumba obtained an AK47 rifle and two magazines loaded with an unknown number of live rounds of ammunition from a police officer, only identified as Mabika, without a valid firearms certificate.

Shumba allegedly sold the firearm and two magazines to Stanley Musukuma, a teacher at Chirisa Primary School, who resides in the Simuchembo area.

It is alleged that in September this year, detectives received information that Shumba had been in possession of a rifle and acting on the information arrested him at Madzivazvido business centre.

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The rifle was then recovered from Musukuma and is being kept at the police provincial armoury in Gweru.