THREE touts who allegedly harassed a Harare man to death close to the Road- port terminus in Harare in 2017, will soon appear in court on murder charges.

The trio — Newton Popi, Ngonidzashe Ndlovu and Nyaradzo Nzombe — will now stand trial at the High Court for allegedly killing Matthias Gore who collapsed after being harangued by the touts in September 2017.

Popi, Ndlovu and Nzombe of Dangamvura in Mutare, Epworth and Mabvuku in Harare respectively, are being charged under Section 47 (1) (b) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act (Chapter 9:23).

“To the accused person… you are hereby notified in terms of subsection (6) of Section 66 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act 9 (Chapter 9:07) that at your trial before the High Court of Zimbabwe at Harare on the 2nd day of April 2020,” the court papers stated.

According to court papers, on September 26, 2017 the accused violently harassed the late Gore, who was in the company of his wife Leticia, and neighbour Mr Simbarashe Madzivanzira.

In the process the touts allegedly pulled the couple’s bags manhandling them to board a Mutare-bound Smart bus.

While in the bus the couple refused to pay for the bus ticket and sought the assistance of Mr Madzivanzira to engage the police for protection as they intended to change the bus.

“While in the (Smart) bus, the deceased, who was complaining of body weakness and dizziness, collapsed.

Simbarashe Madzivanzira and other passengers tried to render first aid but to no avail. An ambulance was summoned but the deceased was pronounced dead upon arrival by paramedics,” read the court papers.

An autopsy concluded the cause of death as, “a severe pulmonary oedema (b) cardiac insufficiency and (c) hypertensive and diabetic mellitus”.

On December 4, 2018, a post-mortem concluded Gore was “an individual subjected to an element of risk at the time prior to death”.

The State proposes to subpoena seven witnesses including the deceased’s wife and neighbour.State media