State witness fabricates evidence in Glenview 29 Trial
Written by Administrator Wednesday, 20 June 2012 16:18
The High Court trial in which 29 MDC members are facing false charges of murdering a police officer Petros Mutedza and inciting public violence in Glen View, Harare in May last year continued today Wednesday 20 June 2012. The sixth witness Assistant Inspector Nyararai continued with his testimony under a cross examination led by prominent Human Rights Lawyers Beatrice Mtetwa, Selby Hwacha, Aleck Muchadehama, Charles Kwaramba, Gift Mtisi and Jeremiah Bhamu.
Evidence provided by Assistant Inspector Nyararai has proved to be fabricated so as to implicate the accused as his past accounts provided so far are contradictory to his initial cross examination statements taken soon after the arrest of the Glenview 29 in May last year and other State witnesses who have taken the stand before him. Nyararai also said some of the evidence brought to court had been tampered with after a police radio he picked up lying beside the deceased police officer had been fiddled with while it was in police custody. The police officer said when he picked up the police radio it was in two pieces but when it was presented in court today, it was in three pieces. However, Nyararai’s testimony is not the same with Victor Magutarima, another police officer and state witness’s account who last week said he was the one who took the broken radio into his custody after it was handed over to him by a young boy at the Glenview shopping centre
Constable Nyararai last week on the 13th of June also testified that the Glenview MDC-T activists shouted, “Kill the frog, Uraya datya” when the police arrived at Munyarari bar, but however when asked why he had not written that in his initial statement penned on the 30th of June last year Nyararai looked and told the court that the information had been omitted in his initial statement. Since the commencement of the trial the state witnesses who were present at the scene of the incident have given contradicting statements including.
The trial will resume on Monday the 25th of June 2012 with the defence lawyers making an application for bail at the Supreme Court. The application follows the refusal by Justice Bhunu to grant the accused bail on Tuesday the 19th of June 2012. Justice Bhunu indicated that the accused do not show any special circumstances to be granted bail.