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Komichi sentenced to community service
Mthulisi Mathuthu, SW Radio Africa
November 07, 2013

http://www.swradioafrica.com/2013/11/07/komichi-sentenced-to-community-service/

A magistrate on Thursday sentenced MDC-T elections agent Morgan Komichi to 350 hours of community service, after finding him guilty of fraud and of contravening electoral laws.

Komichi’s lawyer Alec Muchadehama told SW Radio Africa that his client is appealing the sentence.

Muchadehama said Komichi was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment for fraud and six months for contravening section 85 of the Electoral Act. Eight months were suspended on condition of good behavior for five years while the remainder was suspended on condition that Komichi performs 350 hours of community service.

Muchadehama said his client was expected to be released Thursday and commence his sentence next Monday at Mabelreign Police Station in Harare.

Komichi was arrested on July 28th after he presented to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) an envelope containing ballot papers that were allegedly picked up from a rubbish bin.

Accusations against Komichi were that he tampered with the ballot papers and sought to discredit ZEC.

Throughout the trial Komichi denied the accusations, maintaining that he responded to an anonymous tip-off that some ballot papers had been dumped in a rubbish bin at the Harare International Conference Centre.

In October Komichi told the court that when he handed the papers over to ZEC he wanted Chairperson Justice Rita Makarau ‘to establish whether or not they were authentic’ and to establish how they ended up in a bin.

SW Radio Africa is Zimbabwe's Independent Voice and broadcasts on Short Wave 4880 KHz in the 60m band.

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