Mubaiwa trial deferred, magistrate not available

Prosper Dembedza Herald Correspondent

The trial of Marry Mubaiwa on charges of attempting to kill her ex-husband, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga by unplugging his life support system in a South African hospital failed to continue again following indications that the presiding magistrate is not available.

This prompted Harare Magistrate Mr Stanford Mambanje to postpone the matter to September 19 for trial continuation.

The State also told the court that Mubaiwa’s lawyer was also engaged at the High Court.

During the previous sittings State witness former deputy minister of Health and Child Care Dr John Mangwiro told the court that he caught Mubaiwa red handed while holding the life support tube on the Vice President’s chest.

He said this prompted him to ask the Vice President what was going on since he was crying out for help and he told him that Mubaiwa was pulling the tube and it was painful.

DR Mangwiro, who is also the VP’s personal doctor, further submitted in his evidence in chief that he heard the VP crying out for help while in the intensive care unit after Mubaiwa tried to pull out an intravenous life saving tube.

He said Mubaiwa tried all means to make sure that the Vice President is dead.

Mubaiwa is facing charges of attempting to kill the Vice President in South Africa.

Dr Mangwiro told the court that Mubaiwa used to visit the Vice President with a white man called Bruce who was purported to be a medical doctor but in actual fact it was discovered that he was a veterinary doctor.

Dr Mangwiro said at one point he was disappointed when Mubaiwa took the Vice President into a hotel while he was in need of immediate hospitalisation.

Dr Mangwiro told the court that after noticing that Mubaiwa was refusing to have the VP booked in a hospital, he phoned President Mnangagwa who then told him to try and convince her to have him admitted at a hospital.

“The President said continue to look after him and negotiate with her (Mubaiwa) and take him to the hospital. We were in a hotel where there was no equipment to resuscitate the patient and he could have died,” he said.

He said he had to report Mubaiwa’s actions to President Mnangagwa through a phone call and that is when they arranged an escape and transferred the VP to China for further medical attention.