HARARE – Magistrate Manuwere has dismissed Beatrice Mtetwa’s application for the arrest of prosecutors Michael Reza and Lancelot Mutsokoti for contempt of court.
The two failed to comply with an order to furnish Job Sikhala and Godfrey Sithole’s defence team with State papers for them to prepare for trial.
Manuwere said the two prosecutors can not be held in contempt because the order made by magistrate Feresi Chakanyuka was open-ended – has no timeline.
The ruling was despite Mutsokoti confirming Chakanyuka’s order demanding them to furnish defence with State papers the same day.
Sikhala and Sithole’s lawyer, Jeremiah Bhamu, said it could only be a court error that the verdict had no time limit.
He then applied to the court to come up with a new deadline. Manuwere will rule on the application on September 14.
Bhamu said the court used delaying tactics to keep his clients in jail because it was obvious his clients had no case to defend.
