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Prosper Dembedza, Harare Bureau
Tendai Biti’s lawyer last week completely avoided asking questions relating to how an investor, Mrs Tatiana Aleshina, was assaulted by his client and chose to ask about her company.
This came during cross-examination when lawyer Mr Alec Muchadehama kept on asking Mrs Aleshina questions about her company’s deals and other cases being dealt with by the High Court and Supreme Court.
Despite this line of questioning, Mrs Aleshina kept reminding Mr Muchadehama that she was not able to answer anything, as such questions had nothing to do with her assault matter.
Biti, a lawyer, is facing charges of assaulting the businesswoman at the Harare Magistrate Court in 2020.
Last week, Biti filed an urgent chamber application to stay his assault trial pending determination of an application for review of the dismissal by the lower court, of an application for referral to Constitutional Court.
In his latest application, he cited the presiding magistrate Mrs Vongai 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 (has performed a function or discharged a duty allocated to it and has no further status in the matter).
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 said the magistrate’s rulings were motivated by malice, adding that he needed to be protected from her.
Biti is seeking the court to start the trial afresh before a different magistrate.
However, in opposing the application, 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 First Respondent (Mrs Muchuchuti-Guwuriro) that he is attacking,” submitted Mr Reza.
He added that Biti submitted a similar application for stay of proceedings and the application was heard by Justice Rogers Manyangadze, who dismissed it.
Mr Reza said Biti submitted the latest application in a clear case of abuse of court processes.
“In view of the foregoing, this application is not urgent at all. It has been heard and determined before by another court,” submitted Mr Reza.
He added that on other occasions, Biti 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,” said Mr Reza. The application is pending.
Online Reporter