Former SuperSport midfielder Kudakwashe Mahachi heaved a sigh of relief after he was Tuesday acquitted by a Bulawayo magistrate.
The Warriors winger was facing theft charges after he allegedly snatched and damaged an XP iPhone belonging to his sister, Meline, as part of concerted efforts to destroy evidence in a case in which he is being accused of scalding his four-year-old son with boiling water.
In her ruling, Magistrate Vivian Ndlovu said the state failed to prove the essential elements of the case.
This was after the state called four witnesses including the complainant and her neighbour Chaka Mafaro to testify in the case.
During the cross-examination, the magistrate also noted some inconsistencies in the complainant’s evidence adding that there was a clear indication that there was bad blood between the complainant and the accused.
The magistrate noted that while under cross-examination by the accused‘s lawyers, the complainant said she willingly gave the phone to the accused.
Mahachi was represented by Nkosiyabo Sibanda and Tinashe Runganga from Tanaka Law Chambers.
At the close of the state case, the lawyers had made oral discharge submission arguing that the state had failed to prove its case against the accused beyond any reasonable doubt.
The state represented by Thompson Hove was alleging that Mahachi took his sister’s iPhone XR smartphone and told his driver to start the engine.
The complainant made a police report leading to Mahachi’s arrest.
