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Treason charges against Munyaradzi Gwisai & others - Index of articles
Gwisai
case near collapse after star witness caught in lies
Tichaona
Sibanda, SW Radio Africa
November 08, 2011
View this article
on the SW Radio website
The state case
against former MDC-T legislator Munyaradzi Gwisai is on the verge
of collapse after the 'star' witness has been caught
in a web of lies.
Gwisai's
defence team led by Alec Muchadehama has uncovered major holes in
the credibility of 'Jonathan Shoko' the 'detective
police officer,' who has been exposed as a CIO agent. Shoko's
real name is Rodwell Chitiyo.
The former MDC-T
legislator for Highfields is being accused
of plotting against the government. He is jointly charged with
Antoneta Choto, Tatenda Mombeyarara, Edson Chakuma, Hopewell Gumbo
and Welcome Zimuto.
The group was
arrested in February after watching videos of the Arab spring uprisings
in Egypt and Tunisia. They were initially charged with treason and
plotting to overthrow Robert Mugabe but that was downgraded to 'conspiracy
to commit public violence'.
In February Shoko had infiltrated the meeting attended by the civic
and human rights activists. But infiltration is the job of the intelligence
services, not the police and he supplied all the information that
led to the arrest of the group.
Under oath Shoko
told the court he is a police sergeant, while irrefutable documentation
produced by the defence team in court on Monday exposed him as CIO
and that he was testifying falsely.
The evidence
by the defence team tracked the past of Rodwell aka Jonathan to
his secondary school education at St Faith Boys High in Rusape to
Midlands State University, where he did a Bachelor of Arts in English
and Communication from 2001 - 2004. They also followed his
working career.
They also showed
that the police identity number he produced in court, 046330P is
fake, and does not exist.
He also had
a fake national ID number; 63-752351-T-47 when in actual fact his
genuine ID number is 75-345235-T-47, with date of birth given as
13/08/1982. This is the date of birth Shoko gave in court and is
the same for Rodwell Chitiyo.
The CIO agent
also lied about his residential address, which he gave as 86 Chiremba
in Queensdale. Investigations by the defence team have revealed
he has never lived at the house and they are seeking more answers
as to who printed the fake police ID.
The social networking
site Facebook also gave away Shoko. There is a profile photo of
him under the name Rodwell Chitiyo. His girlfriend, Ester Marufu,
wrote on her profile that she is in a relationship with Chitiyo
and the two have a young child called Courtney, a fact Shoko did
not dispute in court on Monday. Marufu is a first year student at
Chinhoyi University.
'If Shoko
is not disputing the fact he fathered a child with Marufu, then
its case closed for the defence. It is indisputable that Shoko is
Chitiyo and has lied under oath and could find himself in serious
trouble for committing perjury, for wilfully telling an untruth
in a court,' a source close to case said on Tuesday.
The source continued:
'This star witness has made too many conflicting statements.
By exposing his conflicting statements, the defence has reduced
his credibility. Since the trial opened this man, Shoko or Chitiyo,
has repeatedly lied and you could tell the magistrate knew because
he ended up laughing at some of his inconsistent answers.'
There only two more state witnesses, both police officers. They
will take the stand on 29th November.
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