admin
Mr Mavhunga said Mr Chibonore had to disregard tradition and custom of the Mubaiwa people to an extent of holding the traditional installation ceremony at a country club.
In disregard of the tradition, Mr Mavhunga said, the nomination and appointment was done before the kurova guva ritual in respect of the former headman was conducted.
He said Mr Chibonore knew nothing about the Mubaiwa family tree and Cde Chigwedere influenced the nomination without consultation.
“I put it to you that the fourth defendant (Cde Chigwedere) bribed you in form of beasts and you rushed into appointing him as headman Mubaiwa.
“You do not have any knowledge of the Mubaiwa history and family tree and you only listened to the fourth defendant. You even agreed to hold the ceremony at a country club instead of the headman’s area of jurisdiction,” said Mr Mavhunga.
Responding to the allegations Mr Chibonore said the beast and a goat he received from Cde Chigwedere were a fine for insulting him.
“What I know is that I fined Chigwedere one beast and one goat for insulting me. He insulted and mocked me well before I became chief saying I was not his chief.
“When he appeared before me after I had been appointed acting chief, I firstly fined him before dealing with the Mubaiwa headmanship,” he said.
But Mr Mavhunga said since the alleged insult happened when Mr Chibonore was not yet a chief, it was suspicious for Chigwedere to be fined just before his nomination as headman.
Mr Chibonore said Cde Chigwedere was the right candidate for the headmanship.
He said he consulted with the Mubaiwa elders whose names he could not recall in court over who was the next headman.
“I nominated Chigwedere because he was the next person to be installed as headman according to the family tree.
“We had held three meetings in which the Mubaiwa elders agreed on the nomination of Chigwedere.
“I do not know whether the Chadoka family was there or not but I believe when a chief calls a meeting, the subjects should attend,” he said.
Mr Chibonore said being the acting chief, he had powers to nominate a substantive headman and he had done that on several other occasions.
Mr Chibonore who reigned for seven years as acting chief, said he had to remove Mr Isaac Chigodora who had been acting headman Mubaiwa for two years
“Chigodora had stayed for two years as acting headman and it was not my fault that the responsible family delayed to perform the rituals for the former substantive headman.
“I had to nominate a headman because the people needed a leader,” he said.
But Mr Mavhunga said the fact that Mr Chibonore served as acting chief for much more than Mr Chigodora shows that he was simply determined to appoint Cde Chigwedere for a reason.
Hwedza assistant district administrator Mr Lawrence Taruona gave evidence saying his office did not contribute to the appointment of Cde Chigwedere.
He said the office simply acted on the information from the Acting Chief.
Mr Taruona also told the court that the acting chief had briefed his office that he had fined Cde Chigwedere for the previous insults.
He confirmed denying the Mubaiwa family access to the papers like the filed family tree saying they did not have authority from the provincial administrator.
Online Reporter