THE STATE v FUNGAI OLIVER MURANDA

HH 705-17

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Case Details

Court

Harare High Court

Date

20 October 2017

Citation

HH 705-17

Neutral Citation

[2017] ZWHH 705

Outcome

unknown

Case Type

Trial

Bench

Presiding

CHATUKUTA J

Full Bench

CHATUKUTA J

Areas of Law

Criminal LawCriminal Procedure and Evidence

Keywords

MurderAssaultPolice custodyPost-mortem reportSection 278 CP&E Act

Key Issues

{"issue_text":"Whether the State's decision to close its case and accept a lesser plea is binding on the court","issue_type":"procedural","dispositive":"yes","related_facts":"State's decision to accept s 89(1) plea after failing to secure pathologist"}
{"issue_text":"Whether a post-mortem report can be produced in the absence of the pathologist under s 278 of the CP&E Act","issue_type":"procedural","dispositive":"yes","related_facts":"Accused's objection to post-mortem report without pathologist's attendance"}
{"issue_text":"Whether the State has established a prima facie case for murder","issue_type":"mixed","dispositive":"yes","related_facts":"All evidence of assault and cause of death"}

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Facts of the Case

Background

The accused, a police officer, was charged with murder for assaulting the deceased while in custody. The deceased was severely beaten, became unable to walk, and later died. The State sought to accept a lesser plea after failing to secure the pathologist's attendance, but the court found a prima facie case for murder and rejected the State's decision.

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