Police have dismissed allegations that suspects in the murder of medical doctor Victoria Bobe were tortured into making statements.
The issue dominated Monday’s High Court proceedings as State prosecutor Abdul Limbe re-examined police investigator Christopher Pangeti to respond to claims raised earlier by the defence over the conduct of the investigation.
Pangeti told the court that investigators did not threaten the suspects before recording a video at Bobe’s residence, saying they were free to decide whether to speak.
He pointed to one of the accused, Issa Allie, who remained silent throughout the recording, as evidence that the suspects were not forced to make statements.
Pangeti also said another suspect, Rafic Hassan, voluntarily swore before Allah before speaking, which he said demonstrated that his statement was made willingly.
On allegations that police assaulted the suspects, Pangeti rejected photographs presented in court showing injuries on the backs of the accused, saying he could not verify that they were the suspects because their faces were not visible.
When shown another photograph of suspect Peter Chimenya with injuries to his face, Pangeti said Chimenya had already been beaten by an angry mob in Machinjiri after allegedly stealing K950,000.
“Chimenya was already injured when we arrested him because he had been beaten by members of the public in Machinjiri after allegedly stealing K950,000,” said Pangeti. “The police found an angry mob preparing to burn him alive with tyres, and our vehicle was even attacked as we rescued him.”
The investigator also defended the decision not to travel to Mozambique to recover a firearm the suspects allegedly said had been hidden there.
He told the court that police considered the operation too dangerous after receiving information that the area was controlled by armed criminals, adding that one of the suspects had previously served as a Mozambican police officer.
Pangeti further dismissed claims that the video shown in court had been edited, explaining that investigators only paused the recording at intervals during filming, creating the impression that parts had been removed.
He also maintained that police linked Rafic Hassan to the fatal shooting based on ballistic evidence, his firearms expertise as a former police officer and his admission that he had carried the gun before hiding it in Mozambique.
After Limbe concluded his re-examination of the witness, the court adjourned the case to August 24, 2026, when the trial is expected to continue.
