MUTARE magistrate Lucie-Anne Mungwari yesterday temporarily issued a warrant of arrest against suspended Zanu PF Manicaland chairman Mike Madiro after the latter failed to attend his stocktheft trial in the morning.
Report by Obey Manayiti
The warrant was cancelled after Madiro pitched up in the afternoon before the matter was remanded to June 7.
Earlier on, Madiro’s lawyer Tinofara Hove told the court his client had been held up by an examination he was writing in Harare.
Madiro is being charged alongside his deputy Dorothy Mabika on charges of stealing 10 beasts donated for President Robert Mugabe’s 88th birthday party last year.
The pair has since denied the charges and alleges the charges were trumped up by their political rivals within Zanu PF to tarnish their images ahead of this year’s harmonised elections.
The matter has sucked in senior Zanu PF officials, including secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa, secretary for youth affairs Absolom Sikhosana and journalist-cum-politician Supa Mandiwanzira, among others.
