COURT REFUSES TO THROW OUT CHARGES AGAINSTTOP MDC OFFICIAL

COURT REFUSES TO THROW OUT CHARGES AGAINST BITI

By Keith Dube

HARARE – The Magistrates Court on Friday dismissed an application by the opposition MDC secretary-general Tendai Biti against his continued detention on charges of treason and uttering statements prejudicial to the State.

Provincial magistrate Mishrod Guvamombe remanded Biti in custody to 7 July saying there was reasonable suspicion that he could have committed the offence.

The charges, which carry a possible death penalty, stem from a document Biti is alleged to have written soon after the closely contested March 29 harmonised elections.

In the paper entitled ‘The Transition Strategy’ Biti undermined the person of President Robert Mugabe labelling him ‘an evil man who should be taken to The Hague’.

It is the state’s contention that the paper also caused disaffection among the defence forces as it discussed radical changes the MDC government would introduce within their ranks.

Biti, through his defence team led by Advocate Happias Zhou, have strongly denied the charges, arguing that the document was forged.

Zhou said his client even wrote to The Herald denying authorship and threatened to sue the paper unless it stopped attributing the document to him.

Zhou challenged the Court to disclose the source as well as provide the original copy, which first appeared on the Internet.

Meanwhile, Biti’s defence team was expected to meet with the Attorney-General office to discuss bail prospects for its client.

Biti was arrested on Thursday last week on his arrival from South Africa where he had been in self imposed exile since the March 29 harmonised elections.

ENDS

Please note Keith Dube is my pseudo-name