A Bulawayo-based police officer left the court stunned on Thursday afternoon after he testified that he was unaware of how a charge of physical abuse he was investigating had been altered to attempted murder.
Ishmael Khabo, stationed at Sauerstown police station, told the court that while carrying out his investigations, the charge was for physical abuse. However, when the matter went to court, it had been changed to attempted murder.
According to court documents, Denzel Cement is facing an attempted murder charge after he allegedly attempted to stab his stepfather, Obert Cement, during a domestic dispute.
In his testimony, Khabo said he was unaware why Denzel was facing an attempted murder charge, suggesting that the charge might have been altered after the court reviewed the medical examination report for Obert.
The court heard that Obert had a quarrel with Denzel’s mother over a phone call she had received, leading the mother to storm out of the house intending to report the matter to the police. Denzel reportedly followed his mother outside, then returned to the house and demanded his mother’s cell phone from Obert. When Obert refused to hand over the cell phone, Denzel allegedly grabbed a knife and tried to stab Obert, but Obert blocked him and sustained an injury to his left arm.
“I was investigating physical abuse. I was then summoned to testify on attempted murder. I didn’t investigate attempted murder. The record that I know of is under physical abuse. I don’t know how much time they take to alter from physical abuse to attempted murder. Maybe it was altered after the medical report,” Khabo said.
Khabo further told the court that apart from interviewing Obert during his investigations, he did not interview any other witnesses because Obert had said they were the only two people in the room when the incident occurred. Khabo said he did not visit the crime scene either, citing that Obert is an “elderly” member of the community who was less likely to give “false evidence.”
Denzel’s lawyer, Bob Siansole of Shenje and Company law firm, told the court that his client was denying the attempted murder allegations. Siansole argued that Khabo did not have any compelling evidence linking Denzel to the offence, except for the sole reason that Obert was an elderly member of society who would not give false evidence.
Bulawayo Regional Magistrate Joseph Mabeza was at a loss for words at Khabo’s testimony.
“You investigated an assault case, now you are here to testify over attempted murder. All the time coming here, what case were you coming for? You never investigated attempted murder. If there was no weapon recovered, and you did not investigate attempted murder, why are we even here in this court?” asked Mabeza.
“Next time when such a case happens, make sure that you get all the details on why the case you are testifying against is different from the matter that you investigated.”
The matter was postponed to July 24, 2024.
