THE STATE v SHEPHERD CHINHARA

HH 73-17

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Case Details

Court

Harare High Court

Date

3 February 2017

Citation

HH 73-17

Neutral Citation

[2017] ZWHH 73

Outcome

unknown

Case Type

Review

Bench

Presiding

TSANGA J

Full Bench

TSANGA JMUSHORE J

Areas of Law

Criminal Procedure and Evidence ActHigh Court Act

Keywords

compellable witnessdischarge at close of state casemiscarriage of justicetrial de novo

Key Issues

{"issue_text":"Whether the magistrate erred in excusing the inmate witness from testifying when he was competent and compellable under s 244 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act","issue_type":"law","dispositive":"yes","related_facts":"The inmate was excused from testifying despite being a key witness"}
{"issue_text":"Whether the magistrate erred in discharging the accused before the State had closed its case","issue_type":"procedural","dispositive":"yes","related_facts":"The discharge occurred after four witnesses testified but before the State called its last witness"}
{"issue_text":"What is the appropriate remedy for the procedural irregularities","issue_type":"law","dispositive":"yes","related_facts":"The proceedings were irregular and led to a miscarriage of justice"}

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background

Facts of the Case

Background

The accused was charged with assisting a prisoner to escape from Mutimurefu prison. The trial magistrate dismissed a key witness and discharged the accused before the prosecutor closed the State case, leading to a review of the proceedings for procedural irregularities.

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