HARARE magistrate Donald Ndirowei yesterday issued a warrant of arrest for Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s driver, Zororai Mudariki, after the latter failed to attend court as a witness in a matter where four other officials from the Premier’s office are being charged with impersonation.
CHARLES LAITON
“The record will show that this is not the first time the witness has defaulted court. If I am not mistaken, today is the third time that the witness will be issued with the warrant of his arrest,” said prosecutor Michael Reza after Mudariki failed to turn up at the courtroom.
“One Ian Makone from the PM’s office has written a letter requesting the witness to be excused from attending court today, but he had been warned. Under section 231 of the Criminal Law Procedure and Evidence Act, only the court can excuse a person from attending court, not anyone else,” he added.
The magistrate granted the warrant of arrest at the insistence of Reza, who accused Mudariki of wilfully absconding.
The matter was eventually postponed to August 5 this year, when the four MDC-T officials, Thabani Mpofu, Felix Matsinde, Mehluli Tshuma and Warship Dumba, accused of compiling illegal dockets against government officials, will continue with their application seeking referral of their matter to the Constitutional Court.
The four, through their lawyers Alec Muchadehama and Chris Mhike, are arguing that their constitutional rights were infringed upon after the State declined to provide certain documents required by their defence.
They made the application after provincial magistrate Tendai Mahwe dismissed their earlier application in which they sought the court to order the State to provide them with certain documents relevant to their defence.
