THREE soldiers who opened fire at a football ground, wounding a police officer, have each been jailed for seven years.
Lieutenant Victor Mugo, 28, Tapiwa Chigiji, 25, and Trust Matenda, 25, stormed a football ground in Plumtree, Matabeleland South, looking for a man who allegedly assaulted their colleague.
Unbeknown to the soldiers, the ground was teeming with police officers whose team was playing a friendly with a local football club, the Border Kings. The soldiers’ target, Ashley Muzari, played for the Kings.
Western Division Regional Magistrate Owen Tagu, on circuit in Gwanda, heard that on a date in October 2009, Muzari found his wife in bed with a soldier named as Dzingai Kuchivirika.
Muzari allegedly launched into a violent attack on Kuchivirika, leading to his arrest for assault.
Days later, on October 11, the three soldiers – all based at 1:3 Battalion in Plumtree – stormed the Dingimuzi Stadium armed with AK47 rifles.
Prosecuting, Johannes Tlou said the soldiers found the game just finishing and dozens of spectators filing out of the stadium.
The soldiers, the court heard, demanded to see Muzari, and on the orders of Lieutenant Mugo, cocked their rifles.
Sensing danger, Muzari sought refuge among the dozens of police officers at the ground who blocked the soldiers’ path.
The court heard Mugo fired a volley of shots into the air, and ordered Chigiji and Matenda to also open fire. A Constable Matongo was shot on the arm in the stand-off.
The soldiers all pleaded guilty to a charge of attempted murder and were sentenced to seven years in jail, three of which were conditionally suspended.
They were each sentenced to three months in jail for discharging a firearm in a public place, which the magistrate said should run concurrently with the sentence in the first count.