(Last Updated on March 29, 2022 by zimdaily)
MASVINGO – It never rains for 26-year-old Edson Dhonza. A few months after getting 19 years sentence for armed robbery, he collapsed in the High Court at Masvingo yesterday where he is facing a murder charge. He collapsed soon after Justice Garainesu Mawadze ordered him to sit up straight. The sentence for armed robbery was passed by Masvingo Regional Magistrate Bishard Chineka last year.
Dhonza, Shepherd Chinhara (44), Needmore Chipoterwa (28) and Kudakwashe Nyashanu (37) were charged for armed robbery and murder after robbing and abducting a Target Kopje couple on January 14 last year and then throwing them into a 20 metre disused mine shaft.
The four were sitting in the dock as the State outlines for each one of them was being read. Each accused stood up as his outline was read and Dhonza was the last in the row but as he sat Justice Mawadze had to remind him to sit up straight.
When his turn came, he stood up but fell to the floor with a thud. He shivered and had difficulty breathing.
Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS) officers moved in and laid him on a bench.
Justice Mawadze had to adjourn the trial after realising that Dhonza’s state of health was getting worse. He was whisked away to Masvingo Provincial Hospital.
Dhonza is represented by Penelope Dube of Mangwana and Partners.
The four robbers attacked businessman Obvious Nhokovedza and his now late wife Rutendo Ndega at the couple’s residence in Target Kopje, Masvingo. They then threw the couple in a shaft behind Hillside hills and Ndega suffered injuries which led to her death a day later when they were discovered and taken to Masvingo Provincial.
The four got away with a Nissan Caravan, groceries worth $87 960, R800 cash, $15 000 ecocash, US$4 000 and $500 000 in banks before they were nabbed by CID cops in Harare.
The State was led by Emmanuel Matose.
[Masvingomirror]