Vendor killers appear in court, denied bail

Assailant flees after stabbing man in head | FOX 5 San Diego

Michael Mashiri

The three men who fatally stabbed a vendor in Harare’s central business district in a row over change appeared in court on Wednesday, December 28, charged with murder as defined in Section 47 of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act, Chapter 9:23.

They were remanded in custody pending consent by the high court to accent to or deny their application for bail.

The court heard the three - Sala Chindundundu, 21, John Chiutara, 20, and Tinotenda Zemba, 20, approached the vendor, Tobias Mwanyenya, at a spot he sells his wares at the corner of Sam Nujoma Street/Fife Avenue.

Earlier before the court appearance, a police report had established that Mwanyenya, 45, was selling drinks, fruits and tobacco cigarettes when the three approached him to buy four tobacco cigarettes and one banana. They produced US$1 for payment.

“The now deceased gave them back ZWL$200 as change of which the accused persons disputed and claimed they should get ZWL$400 bond notes instead. However, the now deceased maintained that their change was ZWL$200 instead of ZWL$400.

“Both parties failed to reach consensus resulting in a scuffle. The three accused persons began to assault the deceased with open hands and Sekai Mujeri also a vendor at the same place pleaded with the accused persons for peace.

“One of the accused persons claimed that the deceased had stolen his phone. The three accomplices then became more violent and pulled him away from his vending mall into Fife Avenue Street where they stabbed him with a sharp object on the lower left arm and sustained a deep cut.

He was also stabbed on the lower right back where he sustained another deep cut,” says the police report that was compiled under RRB5390241.

Though they fled the scene, their arrest was made possible after a prophet they had approached for help called the police instead.