THE STATE v SILVESTER SAKASU

HMT 55-21

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Case Details

Court

Mutare High Court

Date

13 September 2021

Citation

HMT 55-21

Neutral Citation

[2021] ZWHMT 55

Outcome

unknown

Case Type

Trial

Bench

Presiding

MUZENDA J

Full Bench

MUZENDA J

Areas of Law

Criminal LawCriminal Procedure

Keywords

MurderConstructive IntentSelf-DefenceProperty DefenceSecurity GuardLand Dispute

Key Issues

{"issue_text":"Whether the accused is guilty of murder as defined in s 47(1)(a) or (b) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.","issue_type":"law","dispositive":"yes","related_facts":"The shooting, the intent, the context of the dispute."}
{"issue_text":"Whether the accused's actions were justified under the defence of self-defence or defence of property.","issue_type":"law","dispositive":"yes","related_facts":"The alleged threat from the mob, the ownership of the property."}
{"issue_text":"Whether the accused intended to kill the deceased or merely foresaw the possibility of death.","issue_type":"law","dispositive":"yes","related_facts":"The nature of the shot, the proximity, the accused's training."}

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background

Facts of the Case

Background

On 23 December 2019, the accused, a security guard, shot the deceased, Mathew Mucherere, with a shotgun during a confrontation over a disputed macadamia nut farm in Chipinge. The deceased died from his injuries on 24 December 2019. The accused claimed he fired to scare away a hostile mob, while state witnesses testified that he deliberately targeted and shot the deceased.

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