S V MAZANGWA 2012 (2) ZLR 219 (H)

Flynote

Court

Criminal procedure — meaning of — record indecipherable because of magistrate's poor handwriting — not a record which can be used as basis for reasoning or discussion — judgment — what it should consist of — should be a process of reasoning, showing why conclusions were drawn

Headnote

Section 5(1) of the Magistrates Court Act [Chapter 7:10] provides that the magistrates court shall be a court of record. The word "record" denotes a "collection of data". The term "data" can be defined as "factual information used as a basis for reasoning, discussion or calculation". If the record of proceedings is indecipherable because the magistrate's handwriting is so bad, it means that it cannot pass the definition of "record", neither can unreadable data be called factual information to be used as a basis for reasoning or discussion to enable the trier of fact in a court of law to analyse and arrive at an informed or correct decision.

Judgment writing is a process of reasoning, giving reasons why and how a particular finding was arrived at. A trier of fact is not expected simply to waffle or regurgitate what witnesses said and then, out of the blue, baldly and boldly conclude that the State managed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt and convict an accused person. A trier of fact is enjoined to deal with the credibility of the witnesses and justify why the evidence of a particular witness is to be preferred to that of the accused and why that of the accused is being rejected.