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Prosper Dembedza Herald Correspondent
Harare regional magistrate Mrs Vongai Guwuriro Muchuchuti has deferred Tendai Biti’s assault trial to April 20 for continuation.
Biti is facing charges of assaulting businesswoman and investor Mrs Tatiana Alleshina at the Harare Magistrates Court.
During the last sitting, his lawyer Mr Alec Muchadehama diverted from asking questions about how Mrs Tatiana Alleshina was assaulted by his client and chose to ask about running of her company.
Mr Alec Muchadehama kept on asking Mrs Alleshina questions relating to her company’s deals and other cases being dealt with by the High and Supreme Courts.
Mrs Alleshina kept reminding Mr Muchadehama that she was not able to answer anything as such questions had nothing to do with her assault matter.
Biti recently filed an urgent chamber application to stay his assault trial pending determination of an application for review of the dismissal of an application for referral to Constitutional Court by the lower court.
In his latest application, Biti cited the presiding magistrate Mrs Muchuchuti-Guwuriro and prosecutor Mr Michael Reza as the first and second respondents.
Biti said the application was necessitated by the dismissal of his request for his matter to be referred to the Constitutional Court holding that the court was now functus officio.
He further stated that he is aggrieved hence the application for review of the magistrate’s ruling.
He said the court wants to carry on with criminal proceedings rather than wait for the determination of the High Court application.
“The court’s decision to proceed with the trial notwithstanding my notice to request a referral of the matter to the Constitutional Court was grossly irregular and violated my constitutional rights to the protection and benefit of the law.
“The court also held that it was now functus officio without hearing what I intended to say. Further the request that I intended to make related to issues I had not raised,” Biti submitted.
He submitted that the magistrate’s rulings are motivated by malice.
The opposition legislator is seeking for the court to start the trial afresh before a different magistrate.
However, in opposing the application prosecutor Mr Reza submitted that Biti did not attach the rulings that he was attacking for the court to see.
“In his bundle of documents, the applicant has not attached the ruling by the 1st Respondent (Muchuchuti-Guwuriro) that he is attacking,” Mr Reza submitted.
He said Biti submitted similar application for stay of proceedings and the application was heard by High Court judge Justice Rogers Manyangadze.who dismissed it.
The prosecutor said Biti submitted this latest application in a clear case of abuse of court processes.
“He has submitted this latest one in a clear case of abuse of court process. In view of the foregoing, this application is not urgent at all. It has been heard and determined before by another court,” Mr Reza submitted.
Mr Reza said Biti had on other occasions submitted similar applications which were again dismissed by Justices Tawanda Chitapi and Manyangadze.
“He has not submitted anything new to suggest that another judge may rule differently,” Mr Reza submitted.
The application is pending.
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