Bennett Judge refuses to recuse himself
The court case against MDC Treasurer General Roy Bennett hit yet another snag on Monday, when Judge Chinembiri Bhunu refused to recuse himself from the case. Bennett’s legal team last week requested that Justice Bhunu hand the trial over to another judge, saying his handling of the related Peter Hitschmann trial in 2006 showed he might be ‘prejudicial’ to Bennett. But Bhunu refused to hand the case over when proceedings got underway on Monday, saying the cases of Hitschmann and Bennett were separate.
State prosecutors have indicated that Hitschmann, who was jailed for two years for possessing dangerous weapons but was acquitted on the more serious terrorism charge that Bennett is facing, will give evidence that will implicate Bennett. But Bennett’s defence has said that Hitschmann’s testimony will contradict a sworn affidavit and statements he made to the High Court in 2006. Hitschmann himself has also made clear that he is not prepared to be a state witness.
Monday’s court proceedings saw Bennett plead not guilty to the charges laid against him, and also saw the first state witness in the case take the stand. SW Radio Africa correspondent Simon Muchemwa reported that the witness, police superintendent James Makoni, kept alluding to statements made by Hitschmann during the arms dealer’s case in 2006. The defence argued that the evidence was ‘inadmissible’ because Hitschmann himself has not yet been called to testify. The trial will continue on Tuesday.
SW Radio Africa
Posted by Dave Fish Eagle
on November 16, 2009. Filed under Local News.
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