Edward Mzwinila

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Charge:	Robbery (includes armed robbery)
Sentence:	10 years
Years Imprisoned:	2
Year Crime:	2002
Year Convicted:	2006
Year Cleared:	2008
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Botswana
County or Region of Crime:
City of Crime:	Tlokweng
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Edward Mzwinila was wrongly convicted in 2006 of a 2002 armed robbery in Tlokweng, Botswana based on the eyewitness identification of the victim. Mzwinila was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. Mzwinila alibi defense was that he had been mistaken identified because he was 206 kilometers (130 miles) across the border in Mafikeng, South Africa at the time of the robbery. However, the judge denied Mzwinila's request for the release of his passport that had been seized after his indictment, so he was unable to introduce it as evidence. For his appeal Mzwinila was able to obtain his passport that had border exit and entry stamps proving that he left Botswana for South Africa on the day of the robbery (Oct 31, 2002) and returned three days later. A witness established that she called Mzwinila at 11 am in South Africa, an hour before the robbery was committed at noon in in Botswana. Based on the alibi corroborating evidence, in April 2008 Botswana’s Court of Appeal overturned Mzwinila's conviction and sentence on the basis that his alibi was credible and his guilt could not be established beyond a reasonable doubt."
Conviction Caused By:	Erroneous eyewitness identification by the victim.
Innocence Proved By:	In May 2008 Botswana's Court of Appeal overturned Mzwinila's conviction and sentence on the basis that his alibi was credible and his guilt could not be established beyond a reasonable doubt.
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Appeal Court Sets Aside Mzwinila's Conviction, The Voice (Francistown, Botswana), May 6, 2008"
Information Location 1:	http://allafrica.com/stories/200805060774.html
Information Source 2:	"Court reserves judgement in Mzwinila appeal, BOPA Daily News (Lobatse, Botswana), April 17, 2008."
Information Location 2:	http://www.gov.bw/cgi-bin/news.cgi?d=20080417&i=Court_reserves_judgement_in_Mzwinila_appeal
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Edward Mzwinila

Charge:

Robbery (includes armed robbery)

Sentence:

10 years

Years Imprisoned:

2

Year Crime:

2002

Year Convicted:

2006

Year Cleared:

2008

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Botswana

County or Region of Crime:

City of Crime:

Tlokweng

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Erroneous eyewitness identification by the victim.

Innocence Proved By:

In May 2008 Botswana's Court of Appeal overturned Mzwinila's conviction and sentence on the basis that his alibi was credible and his guilt could not be established beyond a reasonable doubt.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Appeal Court Sets Aside Mzwinila's Conviction, The Voice (Francistown, Botswana), May 6, 2008"

Information Location 1:

http://allafrica.com/stories/200805060774.html

Information Source 2:

"Court reserves judgement in Mzwinila appeal, BOPA Daily News (Lobatse, Botswana), April 17, 2008."

Information Location 2:

http://www.gov.bw/cgi-bin/news.cgi?d=20080417&i=Court_reserves_judgement_in_Mzwinila_appeal

Information Source 3:

Information Location 3:

Information Source 4:

Information Location 4:

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: