HUMAN rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa yesterday said the conduct of the police in the matter in which she is accused of obstructing the course of justice demonstrated that they had ulterior motives.
REPORT BY SENIOR REPORTER
While cross–examining the State’s second witness, Detective Assistant Inspector Wilfred Chibage, Mtetwa said following her arrest on March 17, the police made inquiries about her immigration and marital status and sought to establish if her professional record as a legal practitioner was impeccable.
Chibage, however, told the court he was not aware that Law and Order Section Officer Commanding chief Superintendent Chrispen Makedenge went to the Registrar’s Office, the Immigration department and the Law Society of Zimbabwe digging into Mtetwa’s life.
Such conduct, Mtetwa told Harare magistrate Rumbidzai Mugwagwa, demonstrated that the allegations raised against her had nothing to do with her alleged obstruction of police investigations.
She said the case was a “concoction” littered with “materially different” evidence from the witnesses regarding her arrest, remand hearing, High Court appeal and the police statement.
When the Attorney-General’s representative Tawanda Zvekare, challenged Mtetwa’s line of questioning, the latter’s lawyer Harrison Nkomo said the questions were in order.
“All of these questions show that this case has been deliberately brought by the State to dissuade her (Mtetwa) and other legal practitioners from representing certain types of people such as Thabani Mpofu,” Nkomo said.
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Thabani Mpofu, the research director in former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s office, was arrested on March 17 for allegedly possessing documents incriminating the judiciary system. Mtetwa was also arrested after trying to stop the search at Mpofu’s Westgate house, arguing that the police officers had no search warrant.
Mtetwa said it was untrue that she was hindering police investigations because by the time she got to Mpofu’s house, the police were already through with their search. Chibage also admitted that Mtetwa did not hinder the police from taking pictures of the scene as earlier stated.
He, however, insisted that the search continued after Mtetwa had been arrested. The trial continues today.
