By Thupeyo Muleya
THE trial of 60 MDC-T members who were arrested in February this year for public violence after a Beitbridge district meeting degenerated into fistfights was last Wednesday further postponed to September 28.
The 60 supporters were jointly charged with public violence and were not asked to plead when they appeared before local magistrate Mr Kudakwashe Mhene.
They were all remanded out of custody and ordered to reside at their given addresses and not to interfere with state witnesses.
The duo of Moffat Ndou and Buhle Dube, who are the party’s western and eastern MDC-T branch chairpersons, were also jointly charged for convening the meeting, which led to the skirmishes without notifying the police.
Four other members; Tobias Sibanda (32), Sikhephula Moyo (42), Graham Nyoni (24) and Savious Singo (27) were further charged with criminal trespass for storming the house of Home Affairs co-Minister and Beitbridge East legislator Cde Kembo Mohadi.
All the six were also remanded out of custody.
The State, led by Mr Foster Abheki, said they were further postponing the case to a later date so that they could get enough time to screen the suspects against all aspects of evidence since they were arrested as a group.
He said they needed time to deal with the cases on an individual basis.
Mr Winston Tshakalisa of Tshakalisa Legal Practitioners and Mr Misheck Hogwe of Hogwe, Dzimirai and Partners represented the accused persons.
It is the State’s case that on February 6 at around 10 am, Ndou and Dube convened a public gathering at Caravan Park in the border town without notifying the police.
While at the Caravan Park, clashes ensued between the groups led by Enos Tshili and Eliot Maveza leading both groups to run wild and destroy property at the venue.
They also inflicted serious injuries to two people who have since been taken to Harare for special treatment, while six others were treated and discharged at Beitbridge District Hospital.
Those who were seriously injured are Nhlangano Zvambira and Paul Tadzembwa.
During the fight, the groups proceeded to the streets in the nearby low-density suburbs and town area where they stared disrupting the flow of traffic by throwing stones at motorists.
It was during that process that Tobias Sibanda (32), Sikhephula Moyo (42), Graham Nyoni (24) and Savious Singo (27) entered into Minister Mohadi’s premises where they were then apprehended by the police on guard.
Riot police were called in when delegates to the meeting at Caravan Park started exchanging blows in a tribal-based dispute.
Several people were seriously injured and 58 people were arrested. Police recovered 35 boulders and eight logs from Dube’s car while others were recovered from the scene.
published by, The Herald 19 July 2010
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