adminWitnesses were paid, coerced at ICC: Taylor
FORMER Liberian president Charles Taylor yesterday accused the prosecution in his war crimes hearing at The Hague of bribing and threatening witnesses.
Taylor is the first African leader to stand trial for war crimes at a Special Court for Sierra Leone at The Hague.
He was convicted last month on 11 counts of aiding and abetting murder, rape, conscripting child soldiers and sexual slavery during intertwined wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone, where the prosecution alleged that more than 50 000 people were killed.
The 64-year-old leader was yesterday granted the last chance to speak at the court before sentence is passed later this month.
In a 30-minute address, Taylor disputed the accuracy of evidence presented during his four-year-long trial.
Delivering his statement from a witness box yesterday, Taylor — who insists his innocence on all charges — said money played a “corrupting, influential, significant and dominant role” in the trial. “Witnesses were paid, coerced and in many cases threatened with prosecution if they did not give statements.”
Probe, nullify disputed DCC polls: Politburo
Takunda Maodza Senior Reporter
AN extraordinary session of the Zanu-PF Po-litburo met in Harare yesterday and resolved that national political commissar Cde Webster Shamu investigate disturbances that occurred in some provinces during district co-ordinating committee elections.
Where irregularities are revealed, Cde Shamu will nullify the results and conduct fresh polls.
There have been reports of imposition of candidates during the Zanu-PF DCC elections, especially in Manicaland and Masvingo provinces.
“We had a report from the Zanu-PF national political commissar, Cde Shamu, on what transpired in the restructuring exercise, in particular the DCC. We had an extensive discussion and there were a lot of areas of concern.
“We talked about the imposition of candidates and elections not having been run in a democratic manner.
“People spoke their mind. Where there have been errors, we need to look into that. There are areas where there is need to re- look and ensure that things are done properly,” said Zanu-PF spokesperson Cde Rugare Gu-mbo.
Prime Minister, fiancée blow US$50k in New York
Sydney Kawadza Assistant News Editor
PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai reportedly pampered his fiancée Ms Elizabeth Mazvita Gama (nee Macheka) by booking her into a US$5 000-a-night suite at New York’s exclusive Waldorf Astoria Hotel for a week.
Ten other family members, including sons and daughters-in-law and officials from his office, spent seven nights at the Double Tree Hotel which charges US$390 per head per night.
Prime Minister Tsvangirai was reportedly granted a US$2 000 discount at the Waldorf Astoria.
Overally, the MDC-T leader was paying at least US$6 900 a day for his private trip in New York, translating to US$48 300 for accommodation only for the week-long stay, a figure that shoots up if the cost of return tickets to various destinations is factored in.
These figures exclude other people in the delegation like security personnel.
The PM has his own security aides on top of Government security details. He grabbed headlines last year when he allegedly married Ms Locadia Karimatsenga Tembo, whom he ‘‘divorced’’ within 12 days.
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