Court martial for army captain accused of spying
By Tichaona Sibanda
13 November 2006

Zimbabwe National Army Captain Alfred Chiukira is being accused of supplying intelligence to Peter Hitschmann who is being tried for plotting to assassinate Mugabe.

According to the Zimbabwe Standard Captain Chiukira has been in solitary confinement at the King George VI barracks for the last six months and was expected to appear before a court-marital on Monday.

Despite protesting his innocence Chiukira is suspected to have been tortured in detention. A doctor who examined him was reported to have certified that he had suffered a 17 percent disability as a result of torture. He has not been allowed to see relatives, friends or his lawyer.

The army intelligence officer was arrested last March in connection with the discredited arms cache case after allegations that he had worked with Peter Hitschmann. Giles Mutsekwa, MDC legislator for Mutare north who was arrested the same as Hitschmann but acquitted because of lack of evidence, said he believes the captain will not get a fair trial.

‘Whilst it is not in my prerogative to determine whether this captain is innocent or guilty, the fact of the matter is every human being who was created in the image of God needs to be given every freedom either to be represented or to speak for himself but with some amount of liberty. This has not been the case with this particular army officer,’ said Mutsekwa.

Chiukira has been held incommunicado amid fears army chiefs were determined to keep him under lock and key until after conclusion of Hitschmann’s trial. But Hitschmann’s trial has been postponed to next year.