Gwaze case to Supreme Court

George Gwaze was acquitted of murdering his niece Charlene Makaza.

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The Crown has been granted leave to appeal at the Supreme Court to have a man retried over the rape and murder of his 10-year-old niece.

George Gwaze was acquitted of the murder and sexual violation of Charlene Makaza at a High Court trial in Christchurch in May last year.

By a 2-1 majority in July this year, the Court of Appeal overturned a bid by the Crown to have Gwaze retried.

The Crown then applied to the Supreme Court for leave to hear an appeal against that decision, and that was granted today.

Charlene, who lived with her extended family in Christchurch after being orphaned in Zimbabwe, was found unresponsive in her bed on January 6, 2007, and later died.

The Crown claimed Charlene died of suffocation after a sex attack in her bed.

Medical evidence was given that damage to Charlene's genital and rectal areas indicated she had been sexually assaulted. Sperm from Mr Gwaze was found on her underpants.

But defence counsel Jonathan Eaton said the death resulted from an infection that had overwhelmed Charlene, who had been HIV positive since birth.

Evidence suggested the sperm could have been the result of an "innocent transfer" in the family's washing.

The Crown's appeal was based on "hearsay evidence" of South African paediatric surgeon Heinz Rode late in the trial.

He testified in a statement that Charlene's symptoms were similar to those of Aids victims in South Africa.

- NZPA