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Herald Reporter
Property developer George Katsimberis must not try and smuggle new information into a case during re-examination by the State, Harare regional magistrate Mr Ngoni Nduna said yesterday.
Katsimberis is accusing former managing director of Pokugara Properties Michael van Blerk of perjury, after the two had already crossed swords in a civil dispute.
Mr Nduna’s warning came after several objections by Van Blerk’s lawyer, Advocate Tawanda Zhuwarara, who argued that Katsimberis could not bring fresh information during re-examination.
Information is supposed to be given when a witness undergoes questioning by whichever party called them, with the other party allowed to cross-examine.
Re-examination is just there to clarify something that came up in cross examination, not to present new evidence.
Katsimberis was trying to re-explain how he obtained the fake plans that he used to build a showroom, which he did during cross-examination.
However, the magistrate warned him that he would stop the re-examination if he kept squeezing in new information.
On the previous sitting, Katsimberis testified under cross-examination by Advocate Zhuwarara, who asked him if he was the one who went to the Cleveland House, the headquarters of Harare City Council’s department of works, to get the building plan stamped for cluster houses that he was supposed to build in Borrowdale.
Katsimberis continued to assert that his engineer went to Cleveland House to get the building plan stamped and approved even when Adv Zhuwarara told him only industrial building plans were sent to Cleveland House and homes plans to the Mount Pleasant office.
Katsimberis said he did not have proof apart from the receipts that his building plans were approved at Cleveland House and agreed his engineer told him they were approved there..
Adv Zhuwarara further told Katsimberis that the plan that he was relying on was for a stand number 10 and not number 9 which he is insisting on in court.
But Katsimberis insisted that it was number 9 and blamed his engineer for the blunder.
Adv Zhuwarara further told Katsimberis that if he had issues with the documents provided by Van Blerk he should have stopped the civil matter from being heard at the High Court. It was removed from the roll, but Katsimberis appealed at the Supreme Court and his case was dismissed.
Van Blerk is denying the perjury allegations, saying they were contrived and calculated to embarrass him.
The State represented by Mr Zivanai Macharaga had alleged that Van Blerk, in his personal capacity and representing Pokugara Properties, filed a false written statement and lied in a sworn affidavit that a show house constructed by Katsimberis was built without approved building plans from the City of Harare.
The showroom in question was constructed by Katsimberis under a joint venture deal with Pokugara Properties.
But Adv Zhuwarara said the perjury cannot arise from an affidavit whose averments were admitted by Katsimberis as having been true in the proceedings when that affidavit was logged.
Adv Zhuwarara said Van Blerk did not lie that the showroom was built without approved building plans from City of Harare through a letter dated July 26, 2018.
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