On his initial appearance last week, Superintendent Milos Moyo, the officer commanding police camps in Bulawayo, was granted US$100 bail but, on Monday, magistrate Nonkululeko Mkhonto revoked his bail, saying the State was now ready for his trial. Moyos trial began on Tuesday. Allegations against Moyo are that on the morning of January 1, 2007 he shot Artwell Magagada, who was on his way home after work. Magagada, who was working as a cashier for Chicken Inn food outlet, was shot in the head along 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, The bullet was still lodged in his head.
Police at first refused to charge Moyo with murder, claiming he shot Magagada by mistake as he was trying to disperse a crowd celebrating the new year. Magagadas family last week said they were delighted to see that Moyo was finally facing justice three years after killing their son. Although I cant bring my son back, I am very happy that at last justice is taking its course. We have been waiting for this day for the past three years, said Caleb Magagada. In 2008, Magagadas family, with the help of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, sued Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi and the police commissioner, Augustine Chihuri, over the death their son. The family is demanding Z$20 billion in damages, but the case has still not been heard.