Assignment task: The appellant was sentenced to death following upon his conviction for the offence of murder, contrary to section 200 of the Penal Code, Cap 87 of the Laws of Zambia. The particulars of the offence alleged that the appellant, on a date unknown, but between 27th and 29th January, 2021 at Mufulira, in the Mufulira District of the Copperbelt Province of the Republic of Zambia, murdered Chiti Mulenga.
The prosecution called eight witnesses in support of their case. The salient evidence connecting the appellant to the offence was adduced from PWs 1 & 7. The summary of their evidence was that on 27th January, 2021, the appellant, then an employee of Lake Farm, owned by the deceased, arrived at the farm around 22:00 hours, when the deceases was about to retire to bed. After the two talked for a while, the deceased went into the house and collected a coat, thereafter; he went out with the appellant. Pw1, the girlfriend of the deceased, heard two gun-shot sounds shortly after the two left the farm. On that day, the deceased and the appellant did not return from where they went. By 17:00 hours the following day, a Sunday, a search was conducted by the deceased's farm 32 workers who had become concerned. At 18:00 hours the appellant appeared at the farm. When asked about the deceased, his response was that he had left him in the bush because it was cold. A report was made to the Police.
Earlier searches conducted by the Police did not yield any results. However, on the 30th of January, 2021, after a tip off, PW7, a police officer, in a group of other officers, were led by the appellant to a place where the body of the deceased was exhumed from a shallow grave. The appellant further led the Police to Kafue River Bridge, where he alleged he had thrown the gun in the river. He also led the police to the recovery of an empty cartridge in the grass near Kafue River Bridge.
The appellant's clothes were found in a bedroom at Lake View Farm together with three live ammunition for a Greener gun similar to the empty cartridge. A post mortem examination report revealed that the cause of death was gun-shot wounds. The trial court reviewed the evidence and made the following findings: that the evidence against the appellant was overwhelming; that the appellant was not only the last person to see the deceased alive, but that he later led the Police to a shallow grave where the body was exhumed; that the medical evidence established that the deceased had been shot at close range; that the appellant later led the Police to Kafue River bridge to show them where he threw the gun; that an empty cartridge was recovered in the grass near the bridge area; and that three live bullets similar to the empty cartridge were found in the appellant's slumber jacket.
The court found that the evidence against the appellant was so overwhelming that he had the opportunity and the time to commit the offence. The court concluded that the prosecution had proved the case beyond reasonable doubt and convicted the appellant accordingly. On appeal, the Appellant argued inter alia that he had been wrongly convicted on the ground that there was no direct evidence linking him to the crime and, that there were no eye witnesses and that the police failed to show that he had led them to the shallow grave where the body was exhumed.
Identify the facts in issue and facts relevant to the issue.
Will the appellant succeed with his appeal? Justify your answer.