Magistrate intimidated, removes himself from Minister Mutasa case

By Violet Gonda
26 October 2009

A magistrate who ordered the arrest of Didymus Mutasa, the minister of state for Presidential Affairs, has reportedly recused himself from the case, due to intimidation. Magistrate Ngoni Nduna had earlier this month issued a warrant of arrest for the ZANU PF Minister, when he failed to turn up in a land case involving a Mhangura farmer.

The Minister who had been a subpoenaed to give evidence as a defence witness in the trial of farmer Robert Mckersie, told SW Radio Africa on Friday: “What it is about is simply a subpoena that I should appear and be a witness against myself and I have never heard of that process of law anywhere in the world.”

“I don’t know what it is all about except that some white man is being required to vacate the farm that he thinks is still his and I am being required to say why he should leave. He should leave because there is a land reform programme going on in this country and I have allocated that land to someone else in terms of the land reform programme and that’s all,” Mutasa said.

The Minister denied that he was charged with contempt of court and that there was a warrant of arrest for him, although he was quoted in the Zimbabwe Times calling the magistrate ‘very stupid.’
We were not able to reach the magistrate for comment but several press reports say he will not be handling the case and is unable to deal with it, after being intimidated by a visit from a CIO officer.