Another witness in Bennett trial exposes more inconsistencies

By Violet Gonda
25 November 2009

The trial of Roy Bennett, the MDC senior official accused of trying to overthrow the Mugabe regime, continued on Wednesday with the cross examination of another state witness, Superintendent Arnold Zorodzai Dhliwayo. Journalists covering the terrorism case of the MDC’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture designate say the statements made by the state witnesses expose even more holes in this controversial trial.

Bennett is accused of conspiring with Peter Michael Hitschmann, a registered firearms dealer, to acquire weapons to ‘eliminate’ government officials.

SW Radio Africa correspondent Simon Muchemwa said that just like the first State witness, Dhliwayo’s testimony was full of inconsistencies and contradictions. The first State witness was lead police investigator Chief Superintendent James Makone, who told the court that Dhliwayo had recorded all the weapons found at Hitschmann’s house.

But Muchemwa said Dhliwayo contradicted Makone’s testimony, saying he only noted about half the weapons, as anything that might explode was left in the hands of military experts. This showed that the ‘firearms’ could have been tampered with by the military, who took over the investigations at an army barracks in Mutare when Hitschmann was arrested in 2006.

Muchemwa said most of the evidence Dhliwayo gave created laughter in the court as he contradicted statements made by the previous witness. He was also constantly caught off guard and seemed unable to answer any of the questions properly. Observers say there was often a clear indication that he may have been coached to lie, on behalf of the Attorney General’s Office.

Makone had on Monday also revealed in court that he had not yet completed the investigations which resulted in the defence team, led by Beatrice Mtetwa, saying the whole case against her client is based on ‘false evidence.’

Bennett himself told SW Radio Africa on Tuesday that the trial was an absolute ‘farce and a joke’. He also said it would appear the State was using delaying tactics to prolong the duration of the trial. He said he also feared the trial could take several months, in spite of the fact that the State has so far failed to link him in any way to a plot to overthrow Robert Mugabe.

Muchemwa said because of the numerous breaks being taken in-between the court sessions, the cross examination of Dhliwayo continues on Thursday.