Gweru Magistrate Miriam Banda acquitted three Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) members facing public violence charges.
The trio, John Kuka (38), the CCC Mkoba constituency coordinating committee chairperson, Raphael Chipunza (51) and Simbarashe Kupfurutsa (31), were falsely accused of storming losing the Zanu-PF Mkoba Constituency candidate in March 26, 2022, by-elections William Gondo’s house before allegedly harassing his wife.
Renowned human rights lawyer Advocate Bornwel Balamanja of Hlabano Law Chambers successfully represented the three CCC members.
According to the State papers, with the State represented by Helen Khosa, allegations were that on March 24, 2022, at around 4pm, the complainant Violet Gondo was at her home in Mkoba 2 in Gweru when the accused persons who were aboard an unmarked Ford Ranger vehicle in the company of a group of unknown people parked at her house.
Further allegations were that the trio playing political songs campaigning for CCC Mkoba legislator Amos Chibaya disembarked from the car and threw CCC fliers into Gondo’s yard.
The trio was thought to be part of unknown people who pulled down Gondo’s market table at the gate.
Further allegations were that an unknown person produced a whip and assaulted one Gloria Madhula on the legs before speeding off.
Dismissing the charges, Banda said the witnesses were inconsistent and unreliable.
“Evidence, in this case, was inconsistent, and all the witnesses were unreliable,” she said.
It is widely observed that Zanu-PF members have developed an art of lying that CCC members beat them. The courts have detected such lies.
Last year, Zanu-PF youths assaulted CCC members in Gutu. Cases of politically-motivated violence have escalated in the district.
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