Bulawayo Provincial Magistrate Sam Chitumwa on Wednesday dismissed an application for refusal of further remand by Bulawayo Deputy Mayor Councillor Edwin Ndlovu and his co-accused in an alleged extortion case.
Ndlovu, fellow councillors Ntandoyenkosi Ndlovu, Mxolisi Mahlangu and Ashton Mhlanga, and former councillor Alderman Rodney Jele are facing extortion charges after they were arrested by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC).
They are accused of demanding US$52 000 from a local businessman to facilitate the issuance of a lease.
The defence lawyers applied for refusal of further remand, arguing that the State had already been given sufficient time to complete its investigations and that keeping the accused on remand while investigations continued amounted to punishment.
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However, Magistrate Chitumwa dismissed the application, ruling that the accused had only appeared in court five times and there had not been an unreasonable delay in the commencement of the trial.
The matter was postponed to November 6, 2026.
During Wednesday’s proceedings, the State, represented by Arnold Mudekunye, opposed the application, saying ZACC needed more time to conduct forensic examinations of five cellphones seized from the accused.
“ZACC officers seized five cellphones from the accused persons for forensic examination and that is why we need more time. This is a serious case and due diligence should be done. We are opposed to refusal of further remand and apply that the matter be remanded to 6 November,” said the prosecutor.
Lawyer Kholwani Ngwenya argued the State’s request for more time demonstrated that investigations were still incomplete, which was the basis for the application for refusal of further remand.
He argued that once the investigations were completed, the matter could proceed by way of summons.
Defence counsel Prince Butshe also argued the accused had already been remanded to a trial court and were therefore expecting to be served with the State papers to allow them to prepare for trial.
He maintained that further remand would amount to punishment for the accused.
In his ruling, Chitumwa said the accused had appeared in court only five times and that this could not be regarded as an unreasonable delay in the proceedings.
“The accused persons have only appeared in court five times and it cannot be argued that there has been a delay in the commencement of trial. The application for refusal of further remand is therefore dismissed,” he ruled.
The accused remain on remand until November 6, 2026.
Ndlovu is represented by Zibusiso Ncube of Ncube and Partners Legal Practitioners, while Jele is represented by Butshe of Butshe and Associates.
The other three councillors – Ndlovu, Mahlangu and Mhlanga – are represented by Ngwenya of T.J. Mabhikwa and Partners.
At their previous court appearance, the State had indicated that ZACC required until September 30, 2026 to finalise its investigations before a trial date could be set.
The defence had also indicated that it expected to be served with the State papers at the next appearance to allow the accused to prepare for trial.
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