Three State witnesses in the trial of 29 MDC-T activists accused of murdering Police Inspector Petros Mutedza in Glen View last year, yesterday gave conflicting evidence in the high-profile case.
The witnesses gave different accounts of how Mutedza was killed, the actual site at which he met his fate, what killed him and the events leading to his death.
Clephas Chikwira, a Glen View resident, told the High Court that Mutedza was hit by a stone on the left side of his head and fell down in front of Munyarari Bar.
“I cannot tell who threw the stone because the stones were coming from every direction. I cannot identify any among the accused. People were mixed up, vendors, those with red and white T-shirts and ordinary people going about their businesses,” Chikwira said.
But defence lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa argued that Chikwira’s evidence on how Mutedza died was at variance with what was said by Assistant Inspector Nyararai, a policeman who was with the deceased on the day he was killed.
Contrary to Chikwira’s evidence, Nyararai, in his witness account submitted in the court, said Mutedza was stoned while at the back of the bar.
The police officer said his colleague fell down while retreating to a car at the front of Munyarari Bar, evidence which contradicted that of another police officer, Joshua Daka.
Daka told the court that Mutedza was pelted with stones from a group of people wearing red and white T-shirts, referring to MDC-T supporters.
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He said he saw a group of 10 people running out of the bar, followed by two police officers and then Mutedza but failed to answer on cross-examination why the police officers were running away. Mtetwa suggested they were chasing the group which came out of the bar first.
Mutedza, Daka said, tried to take refuge in a white pick-up truck which took off at full speed before leaving him to fall heavily on his back, to which Mtetwa suggested that could be the cause of the police officer’s death.
“I put it to you that the policemen were not welcome at the place,” Mtetwa told the third witness, a police officer, Judith Mutsigwa, who had admitted the people ran away at the sight of the police vehicle.
Mtetwa suggested that anyone could have stoned the police officer, not the accused since police were not welcome at the place.
