Ishmael Khabo, stationed at Sauerstown police station, told
the court that while carrying out his investigations, the charge was for
physical abuse. However, when the matter went to court, it had been changed to
attempted murder.
According to court documents, Denzel Cement is facing an
attempted murder charge after he allegedly attempted to stab his stepfather,
Obert Cement, during a domestic dispute.
In his testimony, Khabo said he was unaware why Denzel was
facing an attempted murder charge, suggesting that the charge might have been
altered after the court reviewed the medical examination report for Obert.
The court heard that Obert had a quarrel with Denzel’s
mother over a phone call she had received, leading the mother to storm out of
the house intending to report the matter to the police. Denzel reportedly
followed his mother outside, then returned to the house and demanded his
mother’s cell phone from Obert. When Obert refused to hand over the cell phone,
Denzel allegedly grabbed a knife and tried to stab Obert, but Obert blocked him
and sustained an injury to his left arm.
“I was investigating physical abuse. I was then summoned to
testify on attempted murder. I didn’t investigate attempted murder. The record
that I know of is under physical abuse. I don’t know how much time they take to
alter from physical abuse to attempted murder. Maybe it was altered after the
medical report,” Khabo said.
Khabo further told the court that apart from interviewing
Obert during his investigations, he did not interview any other witnesses
because Obert had said they were the only two people in the room when the
incident occurred. Khabo said he did not visit the crime scene either, citing
that Obert is an “elderly” member of the community who was less likely to give
“false evidence.”
Denzel’s lawyer, Bob Siansole of Shenje and Company law
firm, told the court that his client was denying the attempted murder
allegations. Siansole argued that Khabo did not have any compelling evidence
linking Denzel to the offence, except for the sole reason that Obert was an
elderly member of society who would not give false evidence.
Bulawayo Regional Magistrate Joseph Mabeza was at a loss
for words at Khabo’s testimony.
“You investigated an assault case, now you are here to
testify over attempted murder. All the time coming here, what case were you
coming for? You never investigated attempted murder. If there was no weapon
recovered, and you did not investigate attempted murder, why are we even here
in this court?” asked Mabeza.
“Next time when such a case happens, make sure that you get
all the details on why the case you are testifying against is different from
the matter that you investigated.”
The matter was postponed to July 24, 2024. CITE
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