THE STATE v NORMAN GAVIYAYA

HH 85-2008

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Case Details

Court

Harare High Court

Date

11 September 2008

Citation

HH 85-2008

Neutral Citation

[2008] ZWHH 85

Outcome

unknown

Case Type

Review

Bench

Presiding

CHITAKUNYE J

Full Bench

CHITAKUNYE JGUVAVA J

Areas of Law

Criminal LawCriminal Procedure

Keywords

PossessionReasonable suspicionSatisfactory explanationPlea of guiltyAdmissions

Key Issues

{"issue_text":"Whether a conviction under section 125(a) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act can stand where the State has not led evidence on the circumstances that gave rise to the reasonable suspicion that the property was stolen.","issue_type":"law","dispositive":"yes","related_facts":"Lack of evidence from police officer on circumstances of suspicion."}
{"issue_text":"Whether an accused person's admission to the essential elements of the offence is sufficient for a conviction where the facts are not within the accused's knowledge.","issue_type":"law","dispositive":"yes","related_facts":"Accused admitted elements but not the circumstances giving rise to suspicion."}

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background

Facts of the Case

Background

The accused was charged with being found in possession of property reasonably suspected to have been stolen. He pleaded guilty. The State's case was that police officers, on patrol, were approached by the accused who offered to sell them bearings. When asked to account for the bearings, he could not give a satisfactory explanation. The conviction was based on his plea, but no evidence was led regarding the circumstances that gave rise to the police's suspicion.

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