MPHOKO TRIAL DEFERRED
THE TRIAL for former Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko that was set to resume yesterday was postponed to August 31 due to the unavailability of the trial magistrate.
Mphoko, who is facing criminal abuse of duty charges, appeared before Harare regional magistrate Stanford Mambanje who remanded him to next month when the trial magistrate Tranos Utahwashe is available.
It is the State’s case that on May 6, 2016, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) re-ceived a report of allegations of fraud and criminal abuse of duty against Zinara officials.
Investigations that ensued resulted in the arrest of Davison Norupiri and Moses Juma.
The two were charged with criminal abuse of duty and their warned and cautioned statements were recorded on July 12, 2016.
He said after the arrest, Juma and Norupiri were taken to Avondale Police Station on the following day pending their appearance in court.
On the same day at around 6pm, Mphoko, who was at the time the Acting President, stormed the police station and criminally abused his duty as a public officer by ordering the immediate release of Juma and Norupiri from lawful police custody.
The Officer-in-Charge stood his ground challenging the unlawful instruction before he later com-plied with Mphoko’s order under duress and released the two men.
Mphoko drove away with them in his car. When ZACC officials went to Avondale Police Station on the following day intending to take Juma and Norupiri to court, they discovered that police had released them acting on Mphoko’s orders.
The day the trial kicked off, magistrate Utahwashe barred the media and members of the public after the State’s application to have the matter heard in camera because the evidence likely to be adduced would threaten national security.