Fears of Bennett’s re-arrest as case against him grows more flimsy

By Alex Bell
17 November 2009

There are new fears this week that MDC Treasurer General Roy Bennett could be rearrested on yet more spurious charges, as the state’s treason case against him grows ever more flimsy.

SW Radio Africa correspondent Simon Muchemwa reported after the morning’s High Court proceedings that the state’s case is already proving to be based on hearsay and fabrication. He explained that the state’s chief witness, Police Superintendent James Makoni, who took the stand again for cross examination by the defence on Tuesday, has further crippled the state’s case. The witness moved to deny everything that Defence lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa was asking him, going as far as to contradict his earlier statements and expose his own mistakes.

The prosecution, being led personally by Attorney General Johannes Tomana, has rested its entire case on the testimony of their chief witness, Makoni. But while Muchemwa explained that Makoni’s performance in court Tuesday proves the flimsy nature of the state’s case, he explained there are now fears for Bennett’s re-arrest. Muchemwa continued that defence lawyer Mtetwa has ended each court day trying to secure a promise from the court that Bennett will not be rearrested, further heightening concern that more charges will be brought against her client.

The treason trial against the MDC official hit a snag on Monday when Judge Chinembiri Bhunu refused to recuse himself from the case. Bennett’s legal team last week requested that Justice Bhunu hand the trial over to another judge, saying his handling of the related Peter Hitschmann trial in 2006 showed he might be ‘prejudicial’ to Bennett. But Bhunu refused to hand the case over when proceedings got underway on Monday, saying the cases of Hitschmann and Bennett were separate.

But it was not smooth sailing for the state prosecution either, after they introduced Superintendent Makoni as their first witness. Makoni’s entire testimony was based on what was allegedly said by Hitschmann during the police’s investigation, evidence that Mtetwa immediately argued was inadmissible. Hitschmann’s testimony, which will allegedly implicate Bennett, has been critical to the state’s case, with the majority of state witnesses relying on the arms dealer to corroborate their stories. But Hitschmann has since disowned everything he allegedly told police during their investigations, leaving the state with a skeletal case.

No detail about the other witnesses and when they will appear in court has been divulged. The trial continues on Thursday.