By Paul Nyathi|Lloyd Boniface Kobekile Moyo who is accused of shooting dead a Harare parking marshal will plead not guilty to murder and raise self defence as the motive behind his shooting of the man.

Moyo, 24, appeared before Harare magistrate Victoria Mashamba on Thursday and was remanded in custody to October 26 for bail hearing.

His lawyer Oliver Marwa told journalists outside the courts that they will present overwhelming evidence that Lloyd Moyo acted in self defense after being chased for 200 meters by a group of marauding touts before he even drew his licenced firearm.

The case as presented by prosecutors had stripped the crime of all the political connotations which emerged in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.

Witnesses who spoke on the sidelines of the shooting incident indicated that the fiasco started after he refused to pay for the parking, saying the rank marshals had no authority from the Harare City Council, and this had quickly turned into a row over some ZANU PF political gear which was spotted on the back seat of his car.

Prosecutors in court said that Kobekile parked his vehicle at the corner of Angwa and Nkwame Nkurumah Avenue before he proceeded to the Deeds Office nearby.

He left his two sisters, Takudzwa Mugabe and Lorraine Kobekile, in the vehicle.

Mwakapira, who was a rank marshal, then arrived and challenged Kobekile’s sisters, telling them they had parked in parking bays he controlled.

When Kobekile returned, a row ensued and he was attacked by Mwakapira and his colleagues, said the prosecutors.

Mwakapira and his crew allegedly broke the window of the Kobekile’s vehicle, stuffed some cardboard boxes inside and set it on fire.

“The accused tried to escape but the deceased and his friends continued to attack him with stones and iron bars,” said Sebastin Mutizirwa for the prosecution.

It is alleged that Kobekile ran away along Kwame Nkrumah Avenue towards First Street with a mob giving chase. According to the state, he fired three warning shots from his AG Brevet pistol before shooting Mwakapira in the head. The victim died on the spot.

Kobekile’s lawyer, Oliver Marwa, told court that the state made an error by writing down his charge as murder.

Marwa complained that his client was facing a lesser charge of culpable homicide because he had acted in self defence. He gave notice to take the issue up at the High Court where he will apply for bail.