The incident
occurred during a covert operation in Pumula South suburb, early this month.
The case has
captured the nation’s attention with its surprising developments, after a
police detective stationed at Hillside Police Station, Nomore Muradzikwa, 37,
allegedly confessed to the fatal shooting.
Muradzikwa
appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Mr Maxwell Ncube on charges of murder and
was not asked to plead, before being remanded in custody to April 1.
He was advised
to apply for bail at the High Court of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo.
Muradzikwa is
being represented by his lawyer, Mr Tinashe Tashaya of Sengweni Legal Services.
Ms Nkanyezi Xaba represented the State.
It was stated
in court documents that the fatal shooting occurred on March 6, when Muradzikwa
and the late Hove were part of a team leading a covert operation to apprehend
suspected armed robbers in Pumula South suburb.
“The accused
was armed with a CZ pistol serial number BSAP 44 when he advanced towards,
Fikile Ncube aged 26, a male adult, NR 28-160313 K, residing at house number
14804 Pumula South, Bulawayo, a suspect in a robbery case investigated by CID
Homicide,” Ms Xaba told the court.
“He corked his
firearm and shot at him hitting him once on the left elbow after which the
bullet ricocheted and hit the deceased once on the left breast resulting in her
death,” read the circumstances of the case.
Muradzikwa, who
appeared to hold no emotion on the matter, was escorted to the courts by
detectives from CID Homicide yesterday morning, with the matter only being
heard in the afternoon.
However, some
of Hove’s family members who attended the court hearing said they only learnt
of Muradzikwa’s alleged confession through social media.
They also
expressed dissatisfaction with the police, whom they accuse of not informing
them of the developments.
Mr Abias Hove,
a brother to the late Cassandra, said it would have been prudent for the police
to notify them so that all relatives could attend court to hear the series of
events of that night.
“We just learnt
of this today, after seeing the developments on online papers and social media.
Procedurally, I thought police should inform us about this, but we are
disappointed that they did not do so,” said Mr Hove.
He said there
are many questions that need answering to put their hearts and minds at ease.
“It’s
disenchanting that this man only confessed now, two weeks after the death of
our sister. Where and what was he doing all this time?
“What were the
police doing? There are a lot of questions that need to be answered,” said Mr
Hove.
The late Hove
died at the age of 37 and is survived by four children. A member of Bulawayo’s
elite all-female CID unit known as Team Lozikeyi, she was buried at her rural
home in Mataruse Village, Mberengwa District in the Midlands Province.
The incident
occurred around 8:40pm in the Habbek area of Pumula South suburb, where initial
reports suggested that Hove and her colleagues were pursuing suspects involved
in a series of armed robberies. Chronicle
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