NISA GURUPATI, 20, who was sentenced to death by a Special Court in Umtali at the end of July, had his appeal dismissed in October. He had pleaded guilty to bearing arms of war after being wounded and captured in an engagement with Rhodesian security forces.
LUKE BUMHIRA, 30, also lost an appeal against the death sentence. He had been convicted by a Special Court in Inyanga in July on charges of possessing arms of war, and was alleged to have been a member of a guerilla gang.
JOSIAH MASANGO, sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in March 1976 for allegedly pointing out "collaborators to guerillas and failing to report the latter to the authorities, had his conviction quashed and his sentence set aside on appeal in October. At the time of his trial, Masango, (who is known to have been an active member of the ANC), maintained that he had been assaulted by the police. According to Mr. Justice MacDonald of the Appeal Court, State witnesses had conceded at the trial that Masango "had been questioned persistently and aggressively." He ruled that the assault, the marks of which had still been visible to a doctor 7 weeks later, must have been "extremely severe", and that incriminating statements made by the accused to the police could therefore not have been given "freely and voluntarily."
PETERSEN GUVA, 24, sentenced to death in July by a Special Court in Umtali for carrying arms of war, had his appeal dismissed towards the end of October. He was alleged to have been abducted from his home in the Mount Darwin area in August 1974 for guerilla training in Mozambique and Tanzania, and wounded and captured in an ambush by Rhodesian security forces in June 1976.
BASOPO MUNYAMA, a deputy kraal head, and RODRECK TIKABVA, both from the Muroma TTL south of Umtali, had their appeals against the death sentence dismissed at the beginning of November. They were alleged, with 6 others, to have incited a group of guerillas to execute two captured African police constables. Both the policeman managed to escape without serious injury.
A death sentence passed on APURENI APRIL HOVE on 17 September was commuted to one of 20 years imprisonment on 3 November. Hove had been convicted by a Special Court in Gwelo of encouraging looting and helping to abduct others for guerilla training. It was revealed in the course of the appeal hearing that sentence had in fact been passed on the strength of the majority verdict of the Special Court's two assessors (who under the regulations governing the workings of Special Courts need have no formal legal qualifications), and that the President had argued for a less severe penalty.
NYAMWATA JANI, sentenced to death by a Special Court in Chipinga in August for recruiting others for guerilla training, had his appeal against conviction dismissed in November. There was no appeal against sentence.
On 1 and 2 December, 8 of the 9 members of the Muzorewa wing of the ANC sentenced to death at the end of August and beginning of September for causing explosions and sabotage in the Greater Salisbury area, had their appeals dismissed. GEORGE NYAGU, HOZEAH GANDIWA, CRISPEN MUSHIPE, MOSES TSANZI, NORMAN MUTOVONI, PHILIP NYAGU, FREDERICK MUZIKENYEDZE and ELIAS MADOVI had been found guilty of urban guerilla activity by a Special Court. The ninth man, STONE CHAKABVAPASI, 19, had his sentence commuted on appeal to life imprisonment.
