The headman of Munzhedzi village, Vhamusanda Vho-Simon Rambau, breathed a heavy sigh of relief after the Thohoyandou High Court had found him not guilty on Thursday, 27 July, of the kidnapping and murder charges that were laid against him.
Rambau was arrested on 30 April 2019 for the kidnapping and murder of the late Phumudzo Raliphaswa. The headman asserted that he was not even present at home when the incident occurred. According to him, he had received a phone call from one of his assistants in the royal family (vhakoma) informing him that some people were beating a suspected criminal at the royal palace. Upon arriving at the scene, he found a mob assaulting the suspect, who had allegedly just stabbed an elderly man in the village. Rambau tried to intervene but was pushed back by the mob.
Despite the fact that the suspect was kidnapped and killed by the mob, only Vhamusanda Vho-Rambau was brought to trial. During the trial, the state prosecutor, Mr. Muthombeni, conceded that the evidence given by the witnesses during cross-examination was not satisfactory and that the witnesses had contradicted each other. As a result, Judge Phathudi found the headman not guilty and discharged him without him having to give evidence in terms of section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act.
After his acquittal, Rambau expressed his gratitude to advocate TP Matodzi for his excellent work as it ultimately proved his innocence and saved him from languishing in jail for a crime he did not commit.