BULAWAYO magistrate Stephen Ndlovu (47) was at the receiving end of the law on Monday when he was arraigned before the courts facing abuse of office charges.
Ndlovu of Thorngrove in Bulawayo reportedly unlawfully
issued two contradictory court orders for the release of an exhibit held by the
police.
He, however, denied the charges when he appeared before
Bulawayo regional magistrate Rose Dube.
He was remanded in custody to April 29 for continuation of
trial.
Prosecutor Naison Chivayo told the court that sometime in
September 2021, at the Bulawayo Magistrates Court, Ndlovu issued a ruling
granting an application for the release of a motor vehicle that had been held
as an exhibit by the police.
Ndlovu allegedly signed a draft order granting the release
of the vehicle in respect of the application by one Noah Wambe.
On August 25, 2021, Ndlovu then presided over a matter in
which Wambe was the applicant in an interlocutory application involving a
silver Honda Fit vehicle which was an object of a pending criminal trial.
The vehicle was being held as an exhibit by the police in a
matter where one Silvester Chitandawata had been arrested on theft and
money-laundering allegations.
During investigations, the police found out that
Chitandawata had bought a BMW vehicle, a Honda Fit and an Itel A56 cellular
phone using stolen money.
Police then tracked the items, seized them and kept then as
exhibits pending finalisation of Chitandawata’s criminal case.
Wambe made an application on August 25 demanding that the
silver Honda Fit vehicle be released to him, but it was opposed by the State.
It is the State case that Ndlovu then ignored the State’s
evidence and proceeded to hear Wambe’s application.
He then instructed Andrew Hebert Magumise from the Clerk of
Court’s office to dispatch a court order dated August 25, 2021, and stamped on
September 7, 2021 to Wambe, granting the release of the vehicle.
On September 7, Wambe in the company of his legal
practitioner Bartholomew Mhandire approached Mzilikazi Police Station armed
with a court order demanding the release of the Honda Fit.
He was ordered to return at a later date while the police
verified the authenticity of the court
order.
Investigations by the police later revealed that Ndlovu had
corruptly issued the court order and showed favour to Wambe, leading to his
arrest. Newsday
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