Pfananami Goma, who stands accused of killing his girlfriend at Folovhodwe village in the Mutale area last year, was denied bail when he appeared in the Mutale Magistrate's Court last Wednesday afternoon (26 April). Goma (20) allegedly killed Zwivhuya Miriri while they were sleeping in his room on 20 November.
When he appeared before Magistrate Theodora Mathivha, he looked very calm and collected, as if he expected to be granted bail. Goma's lawyer detailed the reasons, which were presented in an affidavit written by Goma, why he should be granted bail. In his affidavit, Goma said that after he had allegedly killed his girlfriend, he had gone to the police station to report the matter, which showed that, if he were granted bail, he would not evade standing trial. He also pointed out that he would not intimidate witnesses because, if granted bail, he would be living with his stepmother at her house in Duthuni village.
Goma's lawyer added that, if his client were granted bail, he would also abide to all the bail conditions. "He does not have a passport and he is not a flight risk," he said.
The magistrate, however, pointed out that the affidavit of the police officer investigating the case described Goma as a very elusive suspect who would threaten witnesses and evade trial if granted bail. She said that the deceased, who had been the suspect's girlfriend, had acquired an interim protection order on 21 August 2021 against him for assaulting her many times, but that Goma had made handing over the protection order to him impossible for the police. "They phoned him several times and visited his house day and night, but he evaded them," the investigating officer said in his affidavit.
The magistrate said Goma had kidnapped the deceased for three weeks and no one had known her whereabouts until had he returned her home. According to the investigating police officer, the deceased had also reported Goma to the local traditional leader and said she had not loved him anymore because he had constantly been beating her. The traditional leader had allegedly warned Goma to stay away from the deceased, but he continued to abuse her.
Goma is also accusing the deceased's mother of killing her own daughter by giving her traditional muti to terminate her pregnancy. In a very warning tone, Magistrate Mathivha said that that was a very serious and malicious allegation against the deceased's mother as the results of the post-mortem had not been released. "Women have rights to do what they like with their bodies. They have rights to terminate their pregnancies under the law in this country. Who are you to intervene in such matters?" she asked the accused.
She added that, in his affidavit, the investigating police officer had said that, when he had arrived at the scene, the deceased's body had had visible wounds all over her body that had shown that she had been severely assaulted with an electrical cable. She said that the community of Folovhodwe was very angry over the manner in which the deceased had been murdered, and that chaos might erupt in the village if the suspect were released on bail.
"The hatred you have against the deceased's mother shows this court that if you were to be released on bail, you would continue to threaten witnesses. Your application for bail is, therefore, not successful," Mathivha concluded.
The victim's family was happy about this decision. Miriri's mother, Ms Ndoweni Miriri, said they were relieved that the suspect would be in custody when standing trial. "The suspect has been tormenting and threatening us daily. He assaulted my daughter in my presence and threatened to kill the whole family," she said.