A HARARE magistrate on Friday postponed to September 11 a case involving two warring brothers, whose conflict dates back to over a decade.
Harare magistrate Amanda Dhlamini, who presided over the matter between Elijah Chifamba of Greystone Park, Harare and his younger brother Trust, postponed it to allow the State to amend the charges.
Trust, of Mandara, Harare, was facing a charge of obstructing or defeating the course of justice as defined in section 184(1)(f) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23] and another of conspiracy to commit murder.
Circumstances outlined for the first charge by the State, represented by prosecutor Tinotenda Masimba, were that “in the month of May 2010, the now accused person witnessed in a court case where the now complainant was being accused by his mother Marian Chifamba that he had indicated that she was a witch, while the accused person knew that the report was false, but he went on to bear false witness to that effect, resulting in court proceedings to be instituted, thereby resulting in the obstruction or defeating of the course of justice”.
On the second charge of conspiracy to commit murder, Masimba said: “Circumstances are that . . . in the month of May 2010, the now-accused person and Marian Chifamba, their mother, conspired and entered an agreement to plot or plan to kill Elijah Chifamba.”
The case, which is set to attract public attention owing to the high-profile professional standing of the two brothers and the nature of the allegations, dates back to 2010 when Trust allegedly caused the arrest of his elder brother Elijah.
