By Panashe Kaseke
Pius Jamba was yesterday convicted of killing Moreblessing Ali, the Citizens Coalition for a Change activist who was killed in May 2022.
According to the presiding judge Esther Muremba, there was overwhelming evidence against him adding that he had no any evidence to defend himself.
“We are satisfied that the accused is the person who killed Moreblessing Ali because he was the last person to be seen with her. The state witnesses impressed the court as credible witnesses, they gave corroborating evidence,” said the judge.
“It is common cause that the accused and Ali interacted and their intersection was not in the positive. It is also common cause that Ali did not go home after drinking at night club on May 24 and she was never seen alive again.”
Posting on X, advocate Fadzai Mahere, former CCC’s spokesperson, commented on the trial highlighting that Ali was murdered for political reasons.
“No person should be murdered for their politics. It’s not a crime to wear a yellow shirt.”
During the trial, the judge dismissed the claim that Ali’s death was politically motivated.
“No evidence was put before the court to confirm that the murder was politically motivated.”
Ali went missing following a confrontation with Jamba at a night club in Nyatsime on the night of May 24,2022. Her body was discovered after two weeks dumped in a well at the house of Jamba’s mother leading to Jamba’s arrest.
The trial was done without the deceased’s lawyer, Job Sikhala, and it has lasted for a year and half. Jamba has been remanded to December 20 for sentencing.