Komichi trial deferred

Tendai Rupapa Senior Court Reporter
The trial of MDC-T deputy national chairman Morgen Komichi, accused of fraud and contravening the country’s electoral laws, has been postponed to October 15. Harare magistrate Mr Tendai Mabwe deferred the trial because the prosecutor Mr Michael Mugabe of the Attorney-General’s Office, who is prosecuting the case was not available.

Mr Mugabe is said to have travelled out of the country and would be available next week. Six witnesses have so far testified, while six more are expected to testify against Komichi.

Komichi was arrested on July 28 on allegations of misrepresenting to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission that he had “picked up” from a dust bin, a sealed tamper-proof envelope with a special vote ballot paper at the Harare International Conference Centre.

Komichi allegedly approached Zec deputy director of public relations Mr Tendai Pamire and told him that an unnamed person informed him that they had picked an envelope from a dustbin at the HICC where the special vote was being processed.

He further alleged that he had opened it out of curiosity and discovered that there were ballot papers cast by the police in favour of MDC-T by a Constable Mugove Chiginya.

The commission reported the matter to the police and investigations showed that Cst Chiginya had failed to vote in the special voting exercise as his name had not been called out by the presiding officer.