AN uncle allegedly killed his three-year-old niece by banging her head against the wall after she soiled herself, the High Court heard yesterday.
Ronald Moda, whose bail appeal was dismissed by the High
Court, had been given custody of the minor by his relative.
It is alleged that on September 2, 2022, the deceased who
was living with the applicant and his family, soiled herself but did not tell
anyone.
“Angered by this, the applicant assaulted the deceased
using a leather belt all over her body. He also banged her head against the
cabin wall and she sustained injuries from which she later succumbed,” the
court heard.
Moda denied the charge arguing that there was no link
between the cause of death and his conduct.
He claimed that he had noticed that she would exhibit signs
of a strange illness and then mess herself up.
According to Moda, he informed the deceased’s mother and
was granted permission to discipline the child.
He, however, denied ever hitting the deceased against the
cabin wall.
In his defence, he said on October 3, 2022 the child
started behaving strangely and hallucinating.
“She died on the same day due to some underlying health
condition totally unrelated to the assault,” he said.
The State said the evidence against the accused was
overwhelming.
Justice Lucy Mungwari, sitting at the Harare High Court,
upheld the State’s submissions.
“The applicant's failure to appreciate that the onus was on
him to demonstrate that it was in the interest of justice for him to be
admitted to bail proved to be his biggest undoing in this application,” the
judge ruled.
“Ultimately, he failed to convince me on a balance of
probabilities that it was in the interest of justice to grant him bail. The
state has a strong prima facie case against the applicant and he is facing
serious charges.
“Furthermore, the applicant fled the scene after the
commission of the offence indicating that he is a flight risk and increasing
the chances of him absconding. In light of thesefactors, the applicant is not a
suitable candidate for bail. The application for bail pending trial is hereby
dismissed,” Mungwari further ruled.
0 comments:
Post a Comment