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Tendai Rupapa Senior Court Reporter
The lawyer representing jailed Independent End Time Message leader Robert Martin Gumbura, facing charges of masterminding a foiled jailbreak at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison, yesterday applied for the incarceration of State witness Claudius Mutizwa.
Mr Tapson Dzvetero accused Mutizwa of wasting the court’s time by refusing to answer questions put to him by one of the accused persons Blessing Chauke during cross-examination.
In most of the questions he was being asked, Mutizwa would say, “no comment”.
Even a clear question which needed a yes or no answer, Mutizwa would just say ‘no comment’. Mr Dzvetero who finished cross-examining him on Monday, interjected and applied for his incarceration.
“Your worship the court should not tolerate this kind of behaviour from the witness. The court should use its powers and reprimand the witness to answer questions and not to have a series of no comments. In terms of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act, the court has the power to send a witness who refuses to answer questions or give evidence in court to prison for eight days,” he said.
Prosecutor Mr Michael Reza opposed Mr Dzvetero’s application arguing that the Act cited by the defence counsel only applied when a witness remained silent when a question is put to him/her.
However, magistrate Mr Francis Mapfumo asked Mr Dzvetero to assist the court with a case law authority or legal position of the cited Act.
He then rolled over the matter to today for ruling.
Mutizwa, who claimed to have been planted as an informant by ZPCS refused to answer to most of Mr Dzvetero’s questions prompting him to make an application for the court to compel him to answer questions. Mr Mapfumo ruled that Mutizwa was not a security officer hence should not run away from answering questions.
Mr Dzvetero had no kind words for Mutizwa whom he accused of evading questions which tend to exonerate Gumbura from the commission of the offence.
Online Reporter