(Pictured: Sticking together The murder trial of a senior police officer in Bulawayo had to be postponed after junior officers who are witnesses in the case failed to turn up at court. (File pic)BULAWAYO—-The trial of police superintended Milos Moyo for murder failed to take off at the High Court last week after key witnesses who are junior police officers failed to turn up and testify against their boss.
Moyo the officer commanding Police Camps in Bulawayo, allegedly shot Artwell Magagada who was on his way home after work on the morning of January 1, 2007. He was brought to court just last week for his initial appearance three years after he allegedly committed murder.
But Bulawayo High Court Judge Maphios Cheda was last Wednesday forced to postpone the matter to19 February after the junior police officers failed to come to court and testify against him.
Whisper Mabhaudi, of the Attorney Generals Office told Justice Cheda in court that the critical witnesses had failed to turn up.
There are 24 witnesses in this case your Worship and out of this number, 17 are police officers who are critical witnesses and were at the scene of the incident but they have failed to turn up today, said Mabhaudi.
Mabhaudi also said the state had dispatched subpoenas on 11 December last year to the police in order to secure the attendance of the witnesses but none of the police officers was at court.
Magagada, who was working as a cashier for Chicken Inn food outlet, was shot in the head near the corner of Fort Street and Leopold Takawira Avenue in the city centre.
He died after spending four days on a life support system at Mater Dei Hospital with the bullet still lodged in his head.
Police once refused to charge Moyo with murder claiming he shot Magagada by mistake as he was trying to disperse a crowd celebrating the coming of New Year.
Moyo is being represented by pro deo lawyer Tanaka Muganyi of Dube-Banda, Nzarayapenga and Partners.
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