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High Courtroom drama as Magistrate sets Mtetwa’s winter trial
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)
May 27, 2013

The high stakes trial of prominent human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa will now commence on Saturday 8 June 2013 after a false start which was marred by high court room drama.

Mtetwa’s trial for allegedly defeating or obstructing the course of justice in contravention of Section 184 (1) (g) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act had been scheduled to commence on Monday 27 May 2013 at Rotten Row Magistrates Court.

But Magistrate Tendai Mahwe on Monday 27 May 2013 postponed the trial to Saturday 8 June 2013 in Court 4 after a day of high courtroom drama.

The case which was supposed to kick off at 8.30 am was filled with high drama as the State’s representatives Tawanda Zvekare, the Acting Director of Public Prosecutions in the Attorney General’s Office and Michael Mugabe, the chief law officer did not pitch up on time.

Police armed with truncheons were deployed and loitered inside and outside Rotten Row Magistrates Court building, where Mtetwa’s trial was scheduled to commence.

Lawyers, relatives and friends who packed the courtroom had to move to a different court room, one of the few which has some recording equipment to record the proceedings. This was at around 10.15 am, but unfortunately the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company, the state-run power utility firm conspired to delay the kick-off of the trial once again, as there was no power for the recording equipment.

Proceedings only commenced at around 11.35 am at which time Mtetwa, who is representing herself together with Harrison Nkomo, a partner at Mtetwa&Nyambirai Legal Practitioners during the trial were engaged in an argument with Zvekare and Mugabe about whether or not to proceed with the matter, and if not, the date to which it should be postponed, as Mtetwa is committed with other trials and cases in the Magistrates and High Court throughout the month of June and July.

Mtetwa, a board member of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights insisted on having the trial postponed to the month of August during the vacation period of the High Court, but the State maintained that it wanted the trial to be dealt with in June.

This prompted Magistrate Mahwe to postpone the matter, which the State had previously insisted should be set for one continuous week for trial for one day on Saturday 8 June 2013.

In April, the Attorney General’s Office concocted new ludicrous allegations against Mtetwa, in a desperate bid to bolster its case against the feisty legal practitioner. The State prosecutors served the human rights lawyer’s attorneys with the concocted allegations together with State papers to prepare for her trial.

A perusal of the State papers showed that prosecutors had supplemented the State papers by adding new allegations that were previously not included in the original State papers used during Mtetwa’s initial remand proceedings last month.

The State embellished its papers with new allegations, which now reads: “Stop whatever you are doing, it’s unconstitutional, illegal and undemocratic. You confused cockroaches” as well as “Murimbwa dzaMugabe” which prosecutors translated to mean “You are Mugabe’s dogs”.

In the original State papers, Mtetwa was accused of telling police officers that: “Stop whatever you are doing, it’s unconstitutional, illegal and undemocratic”.

The State also alleged that Mtetwa uttered the following words: “You people, do you know what you are doing. Murimbwa dzaMugabe” which prosecutors decoded to mean “You are Mugabe’s dogs”.

Oddly, the statement above was not contained in the original court papers but was first brought to the public domain through a malicious opinion article written in the State-run Sunday Mail by Tsholotsho North constituency legislator and Zanu PF politburo member Jonathan Moyo.

Prosecutors also overdramatically claimed that Mtetwa conducted herself indecently when she threatened to relieve herself in a public place.

Nine witnesses have been lined up to testify against Mtetwa and these include Chief Superintendent Luckson Mukazhi, Detective Assistant Inspector Wilfred Chibage, Detective Constable Ngatirwe Mamiza, Detective Sergeant Taizivei Tembo, Assistant Inspector Thabani Nkomo, Chido Chawanikwa, a police officer, Stembiwe Vera, a caretaker at Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s research and development office, Brian Mutusva, a computer technician in the PM’s Office and a driver, Zororai Mudariki.

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