KWEKWE MDC-T councillor Weston Masiya, arrested for illegally cultivating a plant of mbanje at his Mbizo 6 home early this month, will now stand trial on March 6.
STAFF REPORTER
Prosecutor Vimbai Chinoda yesterday told the court that the State will be ready to proceed with Masiya’s trial next Wednesday after all investigations into the matter have been concluded.
It is the State’s case that on February 16 acting on a tipoff, police found a metre-long mbanje plant growning in the garden at the councillor’s house. The State alleges that Masiya knowingly grew the plant illegally, a charge he denies.
Defence lawyer Caroline Mugabe told NewsDay that her client would plead “not guilty”.
“Prior to the discovery of the plant at his house by the police, he did not even know what a mbanje plant looked like. He denies cultivating the plant although it was found at a garden at his home,” she said.
Masiya is out of custody after provincial Magistrate Tendai Manuwere granted him a $100 bail. Masiya becomes the second MDC-T councillor in Kwekwe to be in trouble with the law after Johannes Ngozo was jailed for five years over allegations of fraud.
