KWEKWE – Weston Masiya, an MDC-T councillor-elect accused of growing a plant of mbanje at his Mbizo homestead, was on Tuesday acquitted after the court ruled he had no case to answer.
Blessed Mhlanga
Masiya, who was represented by Caroline Mugabe, had pleaded not guilty to the charge of growing mbanje, saying he was not even aware of its existence.
He argued that over five families stayed at his homestead and shared the garden in which the approximately one-metre-long plant was found by police a few months before the July 31 elections.
“The police just went to Masiya’s house and asked to see the head of the house before arresting him for growing mbanje. They did not even attempt to establish who was responsible for growing it in the first place,” Mugabe argued.
She told the court that the State could not prove for certain that of all the people who stayed at the house, Masiya was the one responsible of cultivating the plant.
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Provincial magistrate Taurai Manwere upheld the argument of the defence and blasted the police for failing to conduct investigations before moving to arrest.
“The police did not take time to investigate so that they could establish who, of all the people staying at the house, had planted and cultivated the mbanje. This, they should have done to avoid giving the court that responsibility,” Manwere said.