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Tomana prosecutor quits, slams boss

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MUTARE provincial prosecutor, Jonathan Chingwinyiso has stood down from the trial of suspended Prosecutor-General Johannes Tomana, accusing his superior, acting Prosecutor-General Ray Goba, of speaking with a “forked tongue” on how to proceed with the matter.

MUTARE provincial prosecutor, Jonathan Chingwinyiso has stood down from the trial of suspended Prosecutor-General Johannes Tomana, accusing his superior, acting Prosecutor-General Ray Goba, of speaking with a “forked tongue” on how to proceed with the matter.

BY PAIDAMOYO MUZULU

Chingwinyiso had been roped in by Goba to prosecute Tomana on charges of criminal abuse of office. Tomana is expected to be indicted to the High Court for trial on November 16.

Chingwinyiso informed Goba of his decision to withdraw from the case in a memorandum dated October 6.

“I, hereby, withdraw myself from taking any further part in this matter. I do not wish to add further confusion and uncertainty in the matter,” he wrote.

“I, as a subordinate, work under specific or general instruction. The matter in issue relates to the issue of instructions. It is from the above that I no longer feel comfortable to deal with the matter as the instructions from your office appear not to be consistent.

“With due respect, it would not augur well with me to be part and parcel of a legal process that appears to be a subterfuge and done with a forked tongue. This is a sensitive matter in which one of the complainants is not an ordinary person. With due respect, if you had made a decision per your memo to me, I personally see no reason not to own it up with the Press.”

Goba was not available for comment, as his mobile phone went unanswered yesterday.

Chingwinyiso claimed that recent statements made by Goba in the media created the impression that he was working independently from his bosses, but facts on the ground were to the contrary.

Tomana’s abuse of office charges arose from his decision to release two military intelligence officers linked to an alleged plot to bomb President Robert Mugabe’s Gushungo Dairy processing plant in Mazowe in January this year.