FORMER Victoria Falls Mayor Sifiso Mpofu and two other
co-accused persons have been acquitted of poaching and money laundering after
the court established that they had been framed.
Messrs Mpofu (42), Milton Sibindi (47) and Patrick Sibanda
(49) all of Mkhosana suburb were arrested in March on allegations that they had
been found in possession of 11 elephant tusks.
They were charged with unlawful possession of raw or
unmarked ivory and an additional charge of unlawfully acquiring or possessing
property knowing or suspecting at the time of receipt that such property is a
proceed of crime.
The three who were represented by Mr Thulani Nkala of Dube,
Nkala and Company pleaded not guilty arguing that they were set up by police
and rangers.
They said a trap was facilitated by an informer Mr Elkana
Ndlovu who approached them in December last year purporting to have an investor
who wanted to partner them in a hunting and safari business.
They said they were shocked when police swooped on them on
7 March, the night when they were meant to meet Mr Ndlovu and the said
investor.
A white Toyota Harrier was said to have been parked in
front of Mr Mpofu’s gate and some ivory was offloaded, only for police to say
the ivory had been found at the former mayor’s house.
“We were deceived by Elkana Ndlovu who pretended to know an
investor interested in hunting. A small car with people who were in civilian
clothes parked next to a Toyota Harrier. We observed some ivory being removed
from the Toyota Harrier and put in the small car before the Harrier drove off,”
said Mr Mpofu.
He said police requested to search his house where they
recovered four marked ivory horns which were put in the same vehicle with seven
others that were unmarked.
The State led by Mr Bruce Maphosa led evidence from seven
witnesses.
In his ruling Matabeleland North magistrate-in-charge Mr
Livard Philemon said State witnesses contradicted their testimonies.
“The State version didn’t add up. It had a lot of gaps and
question marks. They deliberately lied in the fact that they trapped the three
accused and that they were on a routine patrol. The court finds as a matter of
fact that the witnesses were mendacious.
“The court finds as following: State witnesses lied with
regards to the events leading to the arrest and not knowing Elkana Ndlovu who
was planning in contact with Zimparks. The witnesses were generally
inconsistent with regards to how the events unfolded thus making their evidence
unreliable,” said the magistrate.
“Therefore, the court concludes that the accused persons
have successfully falsified the State case.
“Both counts are thus fatally affected by this
unreliability of the witnesses. The accused are therefore found not guilty and
acquitted.”
The 11 tusks weigh 27.99kg with a combined value $6 997.
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