THE trial of the 29 Glen View MDC-T activists accused of the murder of Police Inspector Petros Mutedza continued at the High Court yesterday, with the police giving conflicting evidence over the events on the fateful day.
Report by Charles Laiton, Senior Court Reporter
Constable Victor Mafavhuke, who is stationed at Glen View Police Station and attached to the Police Internal Intelligence Unit dismissed Assistant Inspector Spencer Nyararai’s testimony that he visited Glen View 4 shops twice under his instruction.
Mafavhuke made the remarks while being cross-examined by the activists’ lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa.
Mafavhuke told Justice Chinembiri Bhunu that on May 29 last year, he visited Glen View 4 shopping centre once in the company of his two superiors after gathering information from his informer.
He said upon getting to the shops, they observed a group of MDC-T activists gathered in front of shops having barbecue and drinking beer. He said they were introduced to the activists’ alleged leader, Robert Manyengavana.
Mafavhuke said they ordered him to instruct his colleagues to disperse since their gathering was illegal and they complied. They left the shops and started walking towards Glen View 3, after which the officers left and never returned, he said.
But Mafavhuke later contradicted himself on the question of what the alleged MDC-T group of supporters did upon being instructed to leave. After initially telling the court that the MDC-T supporters immediately left for Glen View 3, he later made a U-turn and said they remained at Glen View 4 shops as the officers left the scene.
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As the trial progressed, Mafavhuke was asked if he could identify some of the accused persons in court and was allowed to physically point at each of them one at a time.
He identified Yvonne Musarurwa, Edwin Mhingiri Nyamadzawo Gapare and Gabriel Shumba, who all confirmed their identities.
The cop, however, misidentified Francis Vambai, whom he confused with Augustine Tenganyika and attributed the confusion to the lapse of time.
The trial continues next Tuesday.
