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Prosper Dembedza Court Correspondent
The perjury trial of former Pokugara properties general manager Mr Michael Van Blerk continued today with him insisting that he never committed any offence.
Van Blerk denied any wrong doing during cross examination with prosecutor Mr Zivanai Macharaga.
At the last sitting, the State’s second witness was warned against smuggling hearsay evidence during cross examination.
The witness who is a former employee of the City of Harare Mr Roy Nyabvure tried to smuggle in hearsay evidence by claiming that the permits given to George Katsimberis were valid because he had seen other documents that indicate that the permits had been submitted.
Van Blerk’s lawyer Advocate Tawanda Zhuwarara objected to the leading of such evidence because it violated section 253 subsection 1 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act.
This provision bars a criminal court from hearing hearsay evidence.
After lengthy submissions, Harare regional magistrate Mr Ngoni Nduna concurred with Advocate Zhuwarara that Nyabvure, as a former employee of City of Harare, could not comment on documents that he did not create or was a custodian of because that would be hearsay evidence.
Advocate Zhuwarara said City of Harare officials are on record in other proceedings stating that the permits that Katsimberis has were obtained fraudulently.
He said Nyabvure could not testify to the fact that the permits were valid based on documents which he, himself, did not create.
Mr Nduna struck Nyabvure’s evidence off the record and held that it was not admissible for him to claim that they were valid.
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 Council House to get the building plan stamped.
Katsimberis admitted that he sent his engineer to Cleveland House to get the building plan of cluster houses that he was supposed to build in Borrowdale.
“My engineer went to Cleveland House to get the building plan stamped and approved,” Katsimberis said.
Advocate Zhuwarara then asked if the engineer went to the Mt Pleasant office or Cleveland House to which Katsimberis replied that it was Cleveland House.
He further asked if he knew that only industrial building plans are sent to Cleveland House and homes to Mt Pleasant.
Katsimberis said he was sure that the building plans were approved at Cleveland House.
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