The state has alleged that the death of businessman and socialite, Shingi Mukandi, was not an accident as had been initially thought. According to the state, Mukandi was a victim of a premeditated murder which was made to appear like a hit and run accident. As a result, the state changed the charges against Alfred Takudzwa Machipisa and his brother Fanwell Lloyd Machipisa from culpable murder to murder when the suspects appeared before Harare Magistrate Gideon Ruvetsa. The brothers are out on bail and were remanded to the 19th of January pending indictment at the High Court.
In changing the charges against the Machipisa brothers, Prosecutor Sebastian Mutizirwa told the court:
Your Worship, the investigating officers had discovered that there was a third party called Nathan Machipisa who was in the Isuzu KB300 that reportedly murdered the socialite and had been protected from facing the charges. He had since skipped the borders to South Africa.
We discovered that the offence was planned and at the moment we are still to record statements and it requires time to complete the investigations considering that a murder charge is a serious offence and complex one.
Mukandi died on the night of July 22, 2017, in what was initially suspected to be a hit and run accidents as he approached his home in Mount Pleasant. He was 33. Mukandi who was travelling on a motorcycle died on the spot after being hit by Alfred Takudzwa Machipisa (25). .
It is alleged Machipisa fled the scene without giving any assistance or checking if Mukandi was injured. He allegedly hid the accident-damaged vehicle at his brother, Fanwell’s place at Zambezi Flats, Mabelreign, Harare.
More: NewsDay
