MP’s trial opens

to his constituency opened last week at Bindura Magistrates’ Court with the politician denying the charges.
Mushonga, who is a senior partner at Mushonga and Associates law firm, was arrested in March this year, on allegations of stealing 3,5 cubic metres of quarry stones valued at US$700 that had been donated to Mukodzongi Clinic. Outlining the State case on Wednesday last week, Mashonaland Central area public prosecutor, Mr Emmanuel Muchenga said businessman Mr Sydney Mushonga donated five cubic metres of stones for the construction of the clinic.
But the lawyer ferried the stones to Shuto Primary School, allegedly for personal use says the State while the defence says that there was an approved project at the school. It is alleged that police managed to recover US$100 worth of stones at the school.
In a defence outline read by Advocate Thabani Mpofu in court, Mushonga denied the charges claiming that only two cubic metres were used at Mukodzongi Clinic and the remainder were taken to another project at Shuto Primary School. It is the politician’s argument that he never converted the stones to his personal use.
Mushonga contends that the stones ceased to be the property of the donor soon after the hand-over and it becomes the recipients’ duty to decide how to use the donation.
The defence argues that the remaining stones were used for the construction of a school in the same constituency, one of the MP’s five community development projects.
The court heard that Mushonga actually donated more resources for the development projects and that the other donations were just sourced to assist him to complete the work. The defence strongly believes Mushonga did not commit any offence by taking the extra stones to another project when the need arose.
A State witness Councillor Ephraim Kunaka insisted that Mushonga had a case to answer because he did not consult him when the stones were ferried to the school. It was his argument that the stones could not have been used for projects outside the ward that houses Mukodzongi Clinic.
The trial continues on May 20 with more witnesses testifying. – CR.