Kitsepile Nyathi
9 November 2009
Harare — The trial of a senior aide of Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai opened with the defence calling for an inquiry into the conduct of the Attorney General Johannes Tomana who is prosecuting the case.
Mr Roy Bennet who was arrested before he could be sworn in as deputy minister of Agriculture in February is accused of amassing weapons of war that would have been used to topple President Robert Mugabe's previous administration.
The trial, which prompted Mr Tsvangirai to temporarily pull out of the government on October 16, opened with Mr Tomana asking the judge to bar a defence argument, where Mr Bennett's lawyers say the evidence against him was obtained through torture.
The popular politician's lawyers say the main state witness, a weapons dealer who was arrested in 2006 was tortured to implicate Mr Bennett.
Mr Peter Hitschman was initially accused of plotting to assassinate Mr Mugabe and Mr Bennett was only linked to the case in February after he returned from exile in South Africa.
The AG, who has taken the unprecedented step of handling the trial himself, says the case is a "serious matter which must be treated with the seriousness it demands."
But Mr Bennett's lawyer Ms Beatrice Mtetwa submitted in court that Mr Tomana's conduct in the trial must be investigated.
The state wants to bring Mr Hitchmann to testify, but the defence said it has since established that what he wants to say is different from what is recorded in his witness account.
After initial arguments, the trial was adjourned to Wednesday by High Court Judge Muchineripi Bhunu to allow time to consider applications made by the state.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 The Nation. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
