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about the post-mortem conducted by Dr Gabriel Alviero-Aguero before the court made a ruling on his evidence.
Mr Kewada had asked the court to allow South African pathologist Dr Reggie Perumel to testify, but he was told to wait until Dr Alviero-Aguero had given his evidence.
After the Cuban doctor’s testimony, Mr Kewada told the court that Mr Perumel could only give evidence if the court ordered exhumation.
In his ruling, Mr Chikwanha said: “He (Mr Kewada) is of the opinion that Dr Alviero-Aguero did not carry out a proper post-mortem.”
But, inquest laws did not allow the lawyer to make such statements of opinion as the only duty of a lawyer was to help the inquest obtain evidence from witnesses.
Mr Chikwanha said Mr Kewada’s statement that Dr Aguero-Gonzalez did not carry out a proper post-mortem breached these inquest laws.
“The duty to analyse facts is left exclusively to the magistrate. The opinion he made on Dr Aguero-Gonzalez is not shared by the court.
“This is so because the court is still to rule on Dr Aguero Gonzalez’s evidence and that of other witnesses,” he said.
The court will come to a conclusion after analysing the evidence.
The findings, he said, will include Dr Aguero-Gonzalez’s evidence and whether or not he performed his duties properly.
Ordering an exhumation before evidence was analysed was tantamount to putting the cart before the horse.
Mr Chikwanha said the Inquest Act did not cover exhumation and to make such an order would breach the law.
He said after the inquiry, the court will make a ruling, which he will forward to the Attorney-General’s Office.
“In light of these reasons, I am not able to accede to the application,” he said, adding the inquest had ended.
Mr Kewada told journalists that he accepted criticism by the court.
“I think when we started this inquest three weeks ago, the general public had doubts: I think we have exposed a lot of things.”
Earlier, Vice President Joice Mujuru’s evidence was admitted in court without her testifying.
In her written evidence, she said on the fateful day, she was woken by her maid who told her that a driver, Mr Enock Talapenzi, had received a call telling him there was fire at the farmhouse.
She tried calling her husband, but his mobile phone was answered by their maid Ms Rosemary Short.
She drove to Ruzambo Farm and the fire brigade arrived at around 5am without water.
She said the fire brigade was totally ineffective and workers helped douse the fire using buckets.
VP Mujuru said she saw Gen Mujuru’s charred remains in the mini-lounge and accompanied them to One Commando Barracks where a post-mortem was conducted while she was in another room.
Her testimony marked the end of the inquest, which saw 39 witnesses testifying.
Online Reporter