MDC-T cop murder trial resumes

via MDC-T cop murder trial resumes. Newzimbabwe.com 10 June 2014

THE marathon trial of seven MDC-T activists accused of the May 2011 brutal killing of a police inspector resumed at the High Court Monday.

Presiding Judge Chinembiri Bhunu however deferred the hearing to Tuesday at State lawyers objected to the presentation of a video in court.

Bhunu said he wanted to allow the State lawyers to scrutinise a video provided by the defence counsel as evidence.

The video was supposed to prove that one of the accused, Last Maengahama, was attending a religious event on the day Inspector Petros Mutedza was killed in Harare’s high density suburb of Glen-View.

“The state is entitled, under the High Court Criminal Procedure Act, to view the video in question before it is presented in court,” said Edmore Nyazamba from the Prosecutor General’s office.

Maengahama, in his evidence in chief, said the video would show that he was not at the scene of the crime on the day Mutedza was murdered

He argued that no identification parade was carried out when they were arrested to ascertain whether they were the real culprits behind the police officer’s murder.

“No clear and proper identification parade was taken after we were arrested.

“What actually happened is that we were taken into a small room at the police station where we were put under police guard,” the MDC-T national executive member said.

He disputed claims by a State witness that he threw a stool at the law-enforcer at Glen View’s Munyarari night club on the day in question.

“I was not at the night club as (the witness) alleges. I was at church … I do not enter a bar, for I am a Christian.

“It is not also true that he identified me by my height … he cannot judge my height as he first saw me seated when I was in police custody,” said Maengahama.

Twenty eight MDC-T were initially arrested over the murder, but 21 were later acquitted including youth president Solomon Madzore and the late Rebecca Mafikeni.

Bhunu however, ruled that Maengahama, along with six others – Tungamirai Madzokere, Yvonne Musarurwa, Lazarus Maengahama, Edwin Muingiri, Phineas Nhatarikwa and Paul Rukanda – should be put to their defence.