Hitschmann trial delayed

By Violet Gonda
27 June 2006

It’s reported that Peter Hitschmann will spend more time in police custody after his trial failed to start on Monday.

He was arrested in March with six others, including Giles Mutsekwa an opposition official, after police discovered an arms cache at his home in Mutare. They were charged for allegedly plotting to assassinate Robert Mugabe when he went to Mutare for his birthday bash celebrations. The charges were later dropped against the others because of lack of evidence.

But the High Court denied Hitschmann bail in March arguing that he was likely to flee. It’s reported the trial on Monday was delayed because Hitschmann's indictment papers were not sent to the defence team on time.

Hitschmann's lawyer, Christopher Munguma, told Reuters news agency, “There was no way the trial could have started on such short notice so we have to agree on a trial date but in the meantime we will proceed to apply for bail."