A 51-YEAR-OLD convict, who on Monday caused a stir at the Chitungwiza Magistrates’ Court after he gulped a poisonous substance and pelted the magistrate with the empty bottle following his conviction for stealing a cellphone, has died.
Cuthbert Shoko was pronounced dead on arrival at Chitungwiza Central Hospital on Monday.
Judicial Service Commission deputy secretary, Munamato Mutevedzi, confirmed Shoko’s death yesterday, adding investigations revealed that he had gulped a cotton pesticide known as Termaron.
It is suspected he could have obtained the pesticide from Tavistock Estates in Beatrice where he was employed.
Shoko drank the poison when presiding magistrate Francis Mapfumo was about to deliver his sentence in a suspected bid to end his life and escape jail .
The court had found him guilty of stealing his sister in-law, Yeukai Mutefani’s mobile phone.
According to the State, he had previous convictions for masquerading as a lawyer, and five years ago, he once threatened to commit suicide during one of his trials.
