MARTIN MAWAYA
Gweru businessman and miner, Charles Simbi has filed an appeal at the High Court challenging both his conviction and sentence in a gold ore theft case.
In his grounds of appeal, filed through legal counsel Esau Mandipa, Simbi argues that the Gweru Magistrate erred in law and fact when it convicted him, despite what he describes as a lack of compelling evidence.
Simbi contends that the State failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, as is required in criminal proceedings.
He further claims that the conviction was based on testimony from unreliable witnesses whose accounts were riddled with material inconsistencies that should have rendered the evidence inadmissible.
“The court a quo erred in convicting the appellant, notwithstanding that his defence was not rebutted beyond reasonable doubt, as required by law,” Mandipa argued in the High Court appeal documents.
The seasoned human rights lawyer also stated that the trial court misdirected itself by convicting Simbi when the essential elements of theft had not been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Turning to the sentence, Mandipa submitted that the magistrate imposed a manifestly excessive penalty that induced a sense of shock.
“The court a quo misdirected itself in imposing a 12-month wholly suspended sentence when such a punishment was not justified in the circumstances,” Mandipa stated.
The defense counsel is seeking the setting aside of both the conviction and sentence, arguing that his client should be acquitted of all charges.
Simbi had pleaded not guilty during the trial but was found guilty by Magistrate Arnold Maburo.
He was fined USD $500 (or its equivalent in ZiG at the prevailing interbank rate), with a default sentence of six months’ imprisonment.
Additionally, he received a 12-month wholly suspended prison sentence on condition of good behavior.
The case was plagued with inconsistencies, particularly from the State’s key witness, Amos Chimba, the manager of Pretty Polly 33 Gold Mine.
Chimba initially told police that the stolen ore was worth US$70,298, but later revised the figure to US$11,000 in a victim impact statement.
These discrepancies prompted Magistrate Maburo to rebuke the prosecution, stating it had failed to present aggravating circumstances warranting a harsher sentence.
He also criticized the State for its inability to establish the actual value of the alleged stolen gold ore.
