A stray cat brought proceedings to a standstill at the Bulawayo High Court this week after it wandered into a murder trial and refused to leave, forcing the judge to abandon the courtroom.<\/p>\n
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the incident occurred on 3 June during a special sitting of the High Court for the trial of Bright Tshuma, 19, of Nkulumane, who was facing a murder charge.<\/p>\n
The NPA said a brown stray cat \u201cslowly walked into the courtroom and unleashed a mournful, ear-piercing wail\u201d, disrupting the session.<\/p>\n
The presiding judge ordered a brief adjournment and instructed police to remove the animal, which was \u201ccontinuously crying\u201d.<\/p>\n
What followed was described as a \u201ccomical scene\u201d as four police officers, four prison guards and a caretaker tried to force the cat out.<\/p>\n
As amused members of the public gathered at the door, the cat reportedly suffered \u201cstage fright\u201d and dashed from behind the dock to the judge\u2019s table.<\/p>\n
It then \u201cneatly tucked itself under the judge\u2019s bench\u201d and reacted \u201cin a hostile manner\u201d to further removal attempts.<\/p>\n
The NPA said the cat was \u201csuccessful in its hostile takeover of the courtroom\u201d, which was later abandoned. The trial continued in a different courtroom.<\/p>\n
Tshuma was convicted of murder for stabbing the deceased with a \u201cColombia CCCP AK47 knife\u201d. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison after a full trial.<\/p>\n
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Magaya \u201cScared\u201d Of Small Black-and-White TV In Victim Friendly Court<\/p>\n
ConCourt Rejects Makoni\u2019s Challenge To Enforcement Of English Divorce Ruling<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A stray cat brought proceedings to a standstill at the Bulawayo High Court this week after it wandered into a murder trial and refused to leave, forcing the judge to abandon the courtroom. According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the incident occurred on 3 June during a special sitting of the High Court for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":116979,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-116980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy"],"yoast_head":"\n