Bulawayo magistrate Sam Chitumwa has dismissed an application to remove Deputy Mayor Edwin Ndlovu and four other councillors from remand in an extortion case.
Ndlovu appeared in court on Friday alongside fellow councillors Ntandoyenkosi Ndlovu, Mxolisi Mahlangu and Ashton Mhlanga, as well as former councillor Alderman Rodney Jele.
The defence made the application after the State sought to postpone the case to 4 December to allow for the completion of forensic investigations and the gathering of further evidence.
The lawyers argued that the State had repeatedly sought more time to build its case, resulting in prolonged remand for the accused.
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They also questioned the continued withholding of the accused persons’ mobile phones, arguing that the devices were not being kept in accordance with the court’s instructions.
In an earlier court appearance, defence lawyer Kholwani Ngwenya had applied for the return of Mahlangu and Mhlanga’s phones, arguing that the arresting officers had relied on incorrect legal provisions.
Read: Bulawayo Councillors Remanded in Custody as Defence Challenges ZACC Evidence Handling. — CITEZW
In Friday’s application, Ngwenya argued that the accused were public office holders with fixed places of residence and that the State had failed to provide sufficient grounds to justify their continued remand.
He also questioned the State’s claim that the seized phones had been placed in a safe, saying there was no record to support this.
“What makes the case even worse is that at no point from the time accused were placed on remand to date has there been any record to show and suggest that indeed these cellphones were taken to the safe as stated,” he said.
He asked the court to remove the accused from remand, allowing the case to proceed by way of summons once investigations were complete.
Lawyer Zibusiso Ncube, representing Deputy Mayor Ndlovu, said the State had previously made similar undertakings to the court but had failed to make meaningful progress.
He said prosecutors had indicated that they expected to have made progress by 6 November but had failed to move the case forward.
“We can’t be having long remand for the accused persons. The State has not told this court what prejudice it will suffer if it proceeds by way of summons so we will assume that it will not suffer any prejudice at all,” he said.
However, prosecutor Arnold Mudekunye argued that the State was not obliged to demonstrate what prejudice it would suffer if the application was granted.
He told the court that forensic reports were still being compiled and that the investigating officer had initially hoped to complete investigations by 30 September.
Mudekunye said some of the processes were beyond the investigating officer’s control.
“The Investigating Officer was hoping to have finished investigations by September 30 but unfortunately some of the proceedings are out of his control. He is not the one who conducts the forensic investigations,” he said.
Magistrate Chitumwa dismissed the application, meaning the five accused will remain on remand.
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