Mary Chiwenga’s Murder Trial To Start Afresh
HARARE – The attempted murder trial of Vice President Constantino Chiwena’s ex-wife, Mary Mubaiwa, will start afresh after the presiding magistrate was promoted to a judge, the Harare Magistrates Court heard on Wednesday.
Prosecutors must now try to locate witnesses and reissue summons in a trial that was nearing the stage of Chiwenga’s testimony.
Mubaiwa has been on remand for seven years and is now seeking to have the charges tossed, accusing the prosecution of repeatedly delaying proceedings.
The National Prosecuting Authority, however, told the court that it was preparing for the trial to restart under a new magistrate after the previous presiding magistrate, Feresi Chakanyuka, was elevated to the High Court bench.
Regional magistrate Musaiona Shotgame postponed the matter to October 23 for a ruling on Mubaiwa’s application for refusal of further remand.
Represented by Beatrice Mtetwa, Mubaiwa argued that the case had dragged on for seven years without conclusion, blaming the state for the repeated postponements.
But prosecutor Lancelot Mutsokoti said they were still locating witnesses and reissuing summons to facilitate a fresh trial.
The restart threatens to prolong a case that had reached an advanced stage, with Chiwenga expected to take the witness stand after his personal doctor, former deputy health minister John Mangwiro, completed his testimony.
Mangwiro had made allegations about an incident during Chiwenga’s hospitalisation in South Africa in July 2019, telling the court that he heard the vice president screaming in agony after Mubaiwa allegedly pulled out an intravenous tube inserted into his chest.
He said the incident did not cause significant damage, as medical personnel rushed into the room before the situation deteriorated
Mangwiro also told the court that Mubaiwa had wielded considerable influence over those around Chiwenga during his hospitalisation, making it difficult for them to intervene.
“There was nothing we could do, the accused was a very powerful woman at that time. She would decide what to do next,” Mangwiro told the court during the earlier proceedings.
He said Mubaiwa sometimes requested privacy with Chiwenga and that he reported his concerns to the Office of the President and Cabinet by phone.
However, Mtetwa challenged Mangwiro’s account, questioning why the alleged incident was not reflected in recorded hospital statements and why other witnesses had not mentioned the attempted murder allegations in their statements.
The defence also questioned the absence of forensic results relating to blood allegedly found on Chiwenga’s T-shirt and challenged Mangwiro over the handling of medical personnel involved in the vice president’s treatment.
Mtetwa accused the witness of fabricating evidence and argued that the allegations were an afterthought arising from the breakdown of the couple’s marriage in 2019.
Mangwiro disputed the defence’s challenges during his testimony.
The NPA had indicated that Chiwenga would be called to testify after Mangwiro concluded his evidence, but the change in the trial magistrate has now necessitated fresh proceedings.
Mubaiwa has had an arm and a leg amputated during the course of the trial. -Kukurigob