A Harare cellphone dealer's murder has left two men guilty, while a judge's son still has his case in court. Elvin Saungweme Dongo and Dellon David Balani face prison terms after the High Court found them guilty of killing Sipho Million Ncube. Their sentences have yet to be set.
But Munyaradzi Mawadze, whose dad is senior Zimbabwean judge Justice Garainesu Mawadze, has a different path through court. He faced the same murder charge as the pair, yet his case went to a separate trial. And that family link has made the legal process far from simple.
DNA played a big part in the case. Police found clothes with blood on them at Dongo's home. A knife from Waterfalls had blood on it as well. Lab tests matched both samples to Ncube, giving the state hard proof to put before the court.
Then came the leads from the two men. Dongo took police to the spot where they found Ncube dead, while Balani was said to have shown them where to look for the knife. Justice Malin Tommasi had already flagged the lab results as key proof in an earlier court decision.
The state claims the three men had made a plan to steal from Ncube and take his life. His death came after he went missing, and people close to him, both at home and in business, began to look for him.
One legal snag centered on Mawadze's dad. The Supreme Court said a judge who had left the bench, or one from abroad, should hear his son's case. The concern was whether a judge still in office could fairly handle a trial tied to another judge's family.
For Dongo and Balani, the question left is how long they will spend behind bars. Mawadze, in contrast, has yet to receive a verdict, and the guilty findings against the other men do not decide his fate.
But Munyaradzi Mawadze, whose dad is senior Zimbabwean judge Justice Garainesu Mawadze, has a different path through court. He faced the same murder charge as the pair, yet his case went to a separate trial. And that family link has made the legal process far from simple.
DNA played a big part in the case. Police found clothes with blood on them at Dongo's home. A knife from Waterfalls had blood on it as well. Lab tests matched both samples to Ncube, giving the state hard proof to put before the court.
Then came the leads from the two men. Dongo took police to the spot where they found Ncube dead, while Balani was said to have shown them where to look for the knife. Justice Malin Tommasi had already flagged the lab results as key proof in an earlier court decision.
The state claims the three men had made a plan to steal from Ncube and take his life. His death came after he went missing, and people close to him, both at home and in business, began to look for him.
One legal snag centered on Mawadze's dad. The Supreme Court said a judge who had left the bench, or one from abroad, should hear his son's case. The concern was whether a judge still in office could fairly handle a trial tied to another judge's family.
For Dongo and Balani, the question left is how long they will spend behind bars. Mawadze, in contrast, has yet to receive a verdict, and the guilty findings against the other men do not decide his fate.
