BY SILAS NKALA
BULAWAYO magistrate Gladmore Mushowe on Thursday last week acquitted five Lupane State University (LSU) students who were facing charges of defeating or obstructing the course of justice after they allegedly staged a protest at the campus early this year.
Ayanda Nkomo, Emkela Ngwenga, Wiston Mukombe, Marble Ndlovu and Hloniphani Sibanda were arrested on March 4 and charged with defeating or obstructing the course of justice.
Prosecutors claimed that Nkomo, Ngwenya, Mukombe, Ndlovu and Sibanda, who were represented by human rights lawyer, Jabulani Mhlanga, had defeated or obstructed the course of justice after they blocked the university authorities’ decision to bar the Student Representative Council leader from entering the university campus.
However, Mushowe on Thursday acquitted the students after ruling that the State had failed to prove a case against them.
The magistrate also ruled that State witnesses’ testimonies were fraught with inconsistencies, rendering their evidence inadmissible.
