Sunday News
February 4 2007
Uncle charged with sexual violation, murder
by Joseph Lose
The uncle of dead Zimbabwe girl
Charlene Makaza appeared in court yesterday charged with sexually violating and
murdering his 10-year-old niece.
George Gwaze's
eyes remained down and he showed no emotion as he entered the dock at the
Christchurch District Court.
About 12 members of the Zimbabwean
community - including Gwaze's wife Sifiso ,
Charlene's aunty - were in court.
Gwaze did not plead to charges that
he murdered Charlene in Christchurch between January 5 and 7.
Gwaze, a short, stocky man with
curly black hair, also faces two charges of sexually violating Charlene on or
about January 6.
Duty solicitor John O'Connell
applied for interim name suppression so Gwaze could inform his family and allow
him to fully brief a lawyer before his next court appearance.
But justices of the peace Nick
Atkins and Stan Beavon said because Gwaze's name had already appeared in Saturday morning's
Christchurch Press newspaper, the name suppression application was pointless.
Police prosecutor Dave Joker opposed
suppression, saying the police homicide investigation had gained a high public
profile and Gwaze's name should be made available to
the public.
Gwaze was remanded in custody until
Wednesday.
His wife Sifiso
did not want to comment.
Charlene died early on January 7.
She had been found in bed,
unconscious and struggling to breathe the day before.
She did not regain consciousness.
Police launched a homicide
investigation after being alerted by hospital authorities.
A post mortem showed Charlene
appeared to have been suffocated.
A week-long scene examination at the
two-storey weatherboard house where Charlene lived with her aunt, uncle, her
12-year-old sister and two adult cousins, produced no
evidence of an intruder.
All members of the family were
present in the Hollyford Ave, Bryndwr,
house when Charlene was found incapacitated.
Police later revealed she had
suffered horrific injuries from a violent sexual attack about the time she was
suffocated.
Charlene's sister was taken into
care by Child Youth and Family after police began the homicide investigation.
The pair had emigrated from Zimbabwe
about two years ago after the deaths of their parents some years earlier.
Members of the
Christchurch Zimbabwean community, school friends and family farewelled Charlene in a funeral service at the Hornby Community Centre on January 20 - 13 days after her
violent death.