HARARE regional prosecutor Michael Reza has refused to recuse himself from the fraud case involving former Kingstons Holdings chief executive Brian Sedze and alleged that the accused attempted to bribe him in a bid to influence him to step down from the case.
CHARLES LAITON
Reza made the allegations in court on Tuesday while responding to Sedze’s application seeking the prosecutor and regional magistrate Simon Rogers Kachambwa to recuse themselves from the matter.
In his application, Sedze accused Reza and Kachambwa of being biased against him. Sedze is being charged with defrauding his former employer of $136 000.
“Having failed in his bid to choose his own prosecutor, trial commenced on March 21, 2013, with me prosecuting. When the trial started he (Sedze) asked his friend Ricky Chingarire, cell number 0771 104 406, to ask me to help him by naming a price and I told Chingarire not to phone me again,” Reza said.
“The applicant (Sedze) has now made a formal written application for my recusal after his verbal requests to me personally and to my boss Jonathan Murombedzi, the Harare area public prosecutor, failed.”
“Prior to the commencement of trial in March, the applicant approached me on three occasions persuading me not to be the prosecutor in his case, because according to him, I have a reputation of not losing cases.”
Reza also dismissed Sedze’s claims that he had made an application for discharge at the close of the State case, saying “it was a figment of his imagination”.
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“He is a liar. The accused, who was represented at that time (on October 24 last month) by Admire Rubaya, never made any application for discharge. He did not either him personally or through his lawyer apply to the court or inform the court that he intended to apply for discharge at the close of the State case,” Reza said.
Reza further dismissed as false Sedze’s claims that he had served him with the application, arguing the court record would show that he (Reza) was on leave during the time Sedze claimed he gave him the application.
Kachambwa postponed ruling on Sedze’s application to tomorrow.
