Lawyers representing two police officers and two neighbourhood watch members accused of fatally shooting a man in Bulawayo’s Hillside suburb in 2020 are challenging the authenticity of the post-mortem presented by the State.
They argue that the date on the document does not align with the victim’s date of death.
Bigson Nyoni and Langton Makonye, members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police, along with Ross Johnston and Kyle Bennet from the neighbourhood watch committee, face charges for the murder of the then 34-year-old Paul Munakopa.
Nyoni and Makonye are represented by Kholwani Ngwenya of T J Mabhikwa and Partners, while Johnston and Bennet are represented by Prince Butshe-Dube of Mathonsi Ncube Law Chambers.
The defence argues that the post-mortem indicates it was conducted on May 21, 2020, whereas the victim’s date of death is recorded as May 24, 2020. They claim this discrepancy casts doubt on the accuracy of other details in the document.
The State countered that the defence could have raised these concerns earlier, as they had the documents in their possession for some time.
It also noted that it would request a medical expert to testify in court, interpret the post-mortem findings, and determine whether the report should be accepted as evidence.
High Court Judge Justice Naison Chivayo postponed the trial to November 11 for continuation.
Munakopa allegedly succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained during a high-speed chase and shootout that occurred during the Covid-19 lockdown.
In their defence, the police officers claimed they were on duty on the night of the incident and had been briefed about a black Honda Fit vehicle suspected to have been involved in criminal activities in the area.
They stated that Munakopa, who was with his girlfriend, violated lockdown regulations, and when they attempted to stop him for questioning, he fled. This led to the shooting in an attempt to stop the car.
