Theo Bronkhorst
Mashudu Netsianda, Senior Court Reporter
THE Bulawayo High Court has ordered the Prosecutor-General’s Office to immediately stop criminal proceedings against hunter Theodore Albert Christian Bronkhorst pending the finalisation of his application for review filed early this month.
Bronkhorst is charged with facilitating the killing of Cecil the lion.
Cecil, the collared lion which had a GPS tracker, was monitored by researchers at Oxford University in the United Kingdom.
The ruling by Justice Martin Makonese on Tuesday follows an urgent chamber application by Bronkhorst challenging the decision by the state to continue trying him despite a pending application for review at the High Court under case number HC 2988/15.
In the court papers, Bronkhorst is the applicant while the state and Hwange regional magistrate Dambudzo Malunga were cited as the respondents.
“The criminal trial of the applicant (Bronkhorst) pending before the second respondent (Malunga) under CRB number D58/15, be and in is hereby stayed pending the finalisation of the review application filed under HC2988/15,” ruled Justice Makonese.
The judge however, did not entertain Bronkhorst’s plea to be placed off remand.
The professional hunter is out of custody on $1,000 bail and reports once a week at Hillside Police Station in Bulawayo as part of the bail conditions.
Bronkhorst through his lawyer Advocate Perpetual Dube is challenging the charges of contravening the provisions of the Parks and Wildlife Act and seeks an order quashing his indictment.
“I’ve approached this honourable court seeking an order staying the proceedings before Malunga pending the review application, evidence of which
I’ve placed before the court. It is humbly submitted that the application for review will be entertained by this honourable court,” said Bronkhorst in his founding affidavit.
He argued that the outcome of the review application was likely to have a bearing on the proceedings before the Hwange regional court.
“It would seriously prejudice me if I were to be placed on trial upon charges that this honourable court later declares to be exculpable or subject to being quashed,” said Bronkhorst.
He applied to the High Court for a review of a judgment by Malunga recently which dismissed the defence application to have the charges thrown out.
Malunga dismissed two applications by Bronkhorst which sought to have the charges quashed and have the matter referred to the Constitutional Court in terms of section 175 (4) of the constitution prompting the defence to apply for a review at the Bulawayo High Court.
Bronkhorst has been charged under section 66 of the Parks and Wildlife Act for allegedly failing to prevent an unlawful hunt.
In his grounds for review, Bronkhorst said the magistrate’s treatment of the proceedings gave rise to an appearance that she had prejudiced the exception and other preliminary issues in favour of the state.
“Some issues material to the enquiries at hand were not regarded or credited by the learned magistrate and the issues that were irrelevant to the enquiries were regarded,” said Bronkhorst.
American dentist Walter Palmer shot and killed the lion using a bow and arrow and then with a gun after luring it out of its protected area with another animal’s carcass in early July.
It is alleged that Palmer paid about $50,000 to Bronkhorst and his associates for the illegal hunt.