BREAKING NEWS: ZANU PF Youth Leader & Prison Officer Sentenced to 11 Years in Gokwe Abduction & Torture Cases
ZANU PF activist and ZPCS officer, Isheanesu Benjamin Marima, has been jailed seven years for abducting and torturing CID Detective Bester Tati, and four years for assaulting commuter operator Calisto Muzofa. Magistrate Thomas Gurajena condemned the organised violence, praising prosecutor Florance Mushanduri for a strong case that shocked the nation.
Dumisani Ndlovu 
Gokwe - The Gokwe Magistrates Court has sentenced ZANU PF Youth League member and Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) officer, Isheanesu Benjamin Marima, and his accomplices to a total of 11 years in prison for the kidnapping, assault, and torture of a Detective Constable and a local commuter omnibus operator
In the first matter involving the kidnapping and torture of Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Law and Order Detective, Constable Bester Tati, Gokwe Magistrate Thomas Gurajena sentenced Marima and his three accomplices to seven years imprisonment each.
One year of the sentence was suspended for five years on condition of good behaviour, leaving the accused to serve an effective six-year jail term.
Marima was convicted alongside Collin Masawi and Edwin Chinogwa after the court found that they acted in common purpose in abducting and torturing the Detective during the Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 3 (CAB3) public hearings in Gokwe.
The court heard that Detective Tati was lured before being forcibly bundled into a vehicle and taken to a remote area near Nembudziya, where he was subjected to brutal “falaka” torture before being dumped at Mutora Business Centre.
Delivering the sentence, Magistrate Gurajena said the attack was a serious affront to the rule of law and an assault on a law enforcement officer carrying out official duties.
“The offences were serious, organised and calculated. The court cannot ignore the level of violence inflicted upon the complainant,” ruled Gurajena.
In the second matter involving the kidnapping and assault of commuter omnibus operator, Calisto Muzofa, Marima and six other co-accused were sentenced to four years imprisonment.
One year was however suspended for five years on condition that they do not commit a similar offence during that period.
The court heard that Muzofa was abducted and assaulted after refusing to pay an illegal “rank affiliation fee” at the Gokwe bus terminus.
Evidence presented during trial showed that the complainant was taken to a secluded area where he was assaulted with wooden logs, while his cellphone was shot and destroyed using a gun.
Medical evidence corroborated the assaults in both cases.
During conviction proceedings, the presiding Magistate praised prosecutor Florance Mushanduri for presenting a strong and well-structured case supported by direct witness testimony, medical reports and circumstantial evidence linking the accused to the crimes.
“The State has discharged its burden. The evidence before this court proves beyond reasonable doubt that the accused committed the offences as charged,” said the Magistrate.
The defence team led by Thomas Militao and Kwekwe-based Whatmore Gandi of Mutatu Legal Practitioners had denied the allegations, arguing that the accused were being falsely implicated.
The court however dismissed their defence as inconsistent and not possibly true.
The convictions and sentencing bring closure to proceedings that attracted national attention due to the involvement of political activists and a serving correctional officer in violent criminal activities against a law enforcement officer and a citizen.
