HARARE magistrate Tendai Mahwe yesterday turned down MDC–T deputy national chairman Morgen Komichi’s fresh bail application on the basis the State had a strong case against him and chances that he would abscond were high.
REPORT BY PHILLIP CHIDAVAENZI
Mahwe said from the evidence provided so far by the three witnesses in the case in which Komichi is accused of contravening the Electoral Act, it would not be in the interests of justice to release the accused from custody.
“From the evidence led, the State has a strong case. It will not be in the interests of justice to grant the accused bail because in this case abscondment is a real possibility,” he ruled. For the State, law officer Michael Mugabe from the Attorney- General’s Office opposed the bail application arguing that trial had already commenced and should he be granted bail, he would abscond.
“The State’s fear is that at this stage it would be improper to admit the accused person to bail,” he said.
However, Komichi’s lawyer Alec Muchadehama told the court that Mugabe’s opposition to the application did not address the initial conditions upon which the MDC-T’s chief election agent had been denied bail.
He said Komichi would not abscond because he had never shown any propensity to do so before.
He also said the evidence provided so far by the State witnesses was not strong enough to warrant his client’s disappearance from the reach of the court’s jurisdiction.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
Allegations against Komichi are that on July 25 this year, he tampered with special vote ballot papers belonging to one Constable Mugove Chiginya which he said he had received from one Michael Phiri.
The ballots were allegedly picked from a bin at the Harare International Conference Centre where special vote ballots were being processed. Komichi is said to have alleged that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) was destroying the ballots which had been used by police officers during the special vote ahead of the July 31 harmonised elections.
Zec allegedly noted that all the ballot papers at the centre of controversy did not have the presiding officer’s mark and that two were marked SV (special vote), while the presidential ballot paper was not marked SV. Zec reported the matter to the police and it was discovered during investigations that Chiginya had not voted during the special voting exercise. The trial continues today.
