A COURT case involving two Harare men who were arrested in possession of 30 pistols, 30 empty magazines and 1 700 rounds of ammunition has taken a new twist following indications that the guns, in fact, were toys.
Douglas Emmanuel Jekanyika (44) Godknows Gunda (31) were arrested for contravening Section 182 of the Customs and Exercise Act when they appeared before magistrate Dennis Mangosi.
The accused, who were represented by Rene Kachidza, pleaded not guilty and their lawyers gave notice to file an application challenging placement on remand on the basis that the facts read to them do not constitute an offence.
Kachidza told the court that the charges do not hold since a ballistic report from CID Homicide has since revealed that the alleged firearms were toys. The matter was postponed to today for the bail application.
State prosecutor Rufaro Chonzi alleged that on March 5, 2024 police details from Southerton Police Station received information that the duo had smuggled some firearms from South Africa through Beitbridge Border Post.
The accused failed to produce the declaration paper for the consignment.
The case was referred to CID Homicide where it was established that the alleged firearms were actually toys which can fire blank ammunition.
Source NewsDay
