The trial of five South African men accused of being hired to kidn@p and ass@ult a businessman took a significant turn this week, as the State continued to present evidence. The suspects—Moses Monde from Johannesburg, along with Malvin Manzinde, Malvin Tatenda Nyamuranga, Norbert Muponda, and Joshua Mapuranga, all based in Cape Town—are facing charges of ass@ult and conspiracy to commit kidn@pping.
According to Zimpapers, the case stems from an alleged scheme in which the five men were hired to target a local businessman, who had reportedly been defrauded of US$800,000 in a failed gas tank deal orchestrated by a man named Obrian Mapurisa.
Prosecutor Ephraim Zinyandu introduced key testimony from Detective Assistant Inspector Tirivangani Madhibha, the police officer responsible for both the arrests and the investigation. During his testimony, Madhibha revealed that two mobile phones, a Hi-sense and a Samsung Galaxy, belonging to Monde and Manzinde, had been handed to him by the arresting team.
“These phones were used to communicate with the mastermind, Mapurisa. I later made the accused sign the seizure forms, which they did,” Madhibha testified. The State sought to present the phones and seizure forms as evidence in court, but defense lawyer Moffat Makuvatsine objected, questioning the identity of the individual who physically seized the devices.
Despite this challenge, Magistrate Stanford Mambanje ruled that the exhibits could be presented, with a final decision on their admissibility to be made later, once all evidence has been examined.
Detective Madhibha further explained that his investigation uncovered communication between the accused and Mapurisa, strengthening the State’s case that the five men were involved in the kidn@pping conspiracy.
The trial continues, with further testimony and evidence expected to shed light on the defendants’ alleged role in the scheme.
