DUO ARRESTED WITH A GUN AT MNANGAGWA FUNCTION
Two men were arrested after being found with a gun at a function presided over by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in Beitbridge on Monday this week.
Alexander Simbarashe Mutendera (40) and Emmanuel Nyamarebvu (50), employed by the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) as chief finance officer and driver, respectively, were remanded to March 19 for trial on US$100 bail each.
They were charged with possession of a firearm without a licence.
Their lawyer Jabulani Mberesi of Tavenhave and Machingauta said the two were pleading not guilty and would argue that the alleged firearm was a blank pistol used to scare away animals at a farm.
Beitbridge resident magistrate Takudzwa Gwazemba, in granting bail, said the State failed to present reasonable grounds for bail denial.
He also ordered the release of the car belonging to the duo’s employer after Mberesi argued that the car had nothing to do with the alleged offence and holding it would hinder the operations of their employer.
Mberesi also said the possibility of a conviction was almost zero considering that the firearm was not a real gun.
On February 24 this year, the two were guests at the ground-breaking function officiated by Mnangagwa at the Xintai Palm River Metallurgical and Energy Industrial Park in Beitbridge.
At the security checkpoint the firearm, which is a Blow F92 pistol, without a serial number, was discovered under the driver’s front seat resulting in the duo’s arrest.
Tawanda Chigavazira, who was prosecuting, did not oppose the release of the car on the ground it did not belong to Mutendera and Nyamarebvu but their employer.
He also requested a long remand period saying the Ballistics Section take time to test and verify firearms. *_-Newsday_*
