Two men convicted of murdering Harare cellphone dealer

TWO men accused of murdering Harare cellphone dealer Sipho Million Ncube have been convicted by the High Court and are now awaiting sentencing.

Elvin Saungweme Dongo and Dellon David Balani were convicted on Thursday by High Court judge Justice Malin Tommasi over the March 2020 murder, which the State alleges was part of a plot to rob and kill the cellphone dealer.

The two were accused of acting in cahoots with Munyaradzi Mawadze, whose trial was separated from theirs.

The case attracted attention in 2020 after Ncube disappeared, prompting searches by relatives and business associates before his body was eventually recovered.

The prosecution relied on circumstantial and forensic evidence linking the accused to the killing, including blood-stained clothing recovered from Dongo’s residence and a knife recovered from a bushy area in Waterfalls.

Forensic tests linked blood found on both items to Ncube’s DNA profile.

A post-mortem examination established that Ncube died from acute anaemia caused by severe neck trauma from an incised wound.

Police told the court that Dongo pointed out the location where Ncube’s body was recovered, while Balani allegedly led investigators to the place where the blood-stained knife was found.

In an earlier ruling dismissing their applications for discharge at the close of the State’s case, Justice Tommasi found that the evidence against the pair was sufficient to require them to answer to the charges.

“There is objective forensic evidence linking the blood found on the clothing recovered from the 1st accused’s residence, as well as that found on the knife pointed out by accused 2 and recovered in Waterfalls, to the deceased,” the judge said.

The court also considered statements made by the two men in their bail applications, which placed them in the company of Mawadze at or near the scene around the time of the killing.

The judge said Dongo’s knowledge of where the body was found, coupled with the discovery of clothing bearing Ncube’s blood at his residence, implicated him in the murder.

“These facts constitute prima facie evidence that he was present in circumstances which implicate him directly or indirectly in the commission of that crime,” Justice Tommasi said.

On Balani, the judge said his knowledge of the location of the knife, the forensic evidence linking it to Ncube and his own statement placing himself with the other men at the material time constituted evidence implicating him.

“The second accused’s knowledge of the location of the knife, the forensic evidence linking the knife to the deceased, and his own statement placing himself with the other persons at the material time constitute circumstances capable of implicating him,” she said.

The court also heard that the accused’s versions referred to a knife being used to inflict a fatal wound inside a vehicle in a remote area.

The judge emphasised that the discharge ruling was not a determination of guilt but an assessment of whether the State had presented evidence warranting a defence.

“The ultimate question at this stage is not whether the State has already proved the guilt of either accused beyond reasonable doubt, but whether there is evidence which, if accepted and left unanswered, could sustain a conviction,” she said.

“On the evidence presently before the court, that question must be answered in the affirmative.”

The court subsequently dismissed their applications for discharge and ordered them to enter their defence.

The two are now awaiting sentencing.

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