Stephen Chadenga
The defence lawyer in a case in which Gweru miner and businessman Charles Simbi and his wife Zodwa are accused of fraud and forgery yesterday had to interject several times against the state prosecution way of leading a witness who was testifying in the matter.
According to the state Simbi allegedly used his wife to forge an offer letter on part of Kanuck Farm, located along the Gweru-Shurugwi Road. The farm is said to be owned by prominent Gweru businessman Melvin Van Gopal.
The lawyer Esau Mandipa raised concerns that prosecutor Fredrick Macheza was asking leading questions to state witness Nyasha Manyakara who is the Gweru district lands officer.
At one point Manyakara said he did not know the date when a beneficiary identified as Mawere did not take the offer for the land that Zodwa ended up occupying. But the prosecution had to lead him and he changed to say it was in July 2015.
When Mandipa objected to such line of questioning Gweru magistrate Beaulity Dube had to call Macheza to order and ask his witness properly.
The prosecutor also wanted Manyakara to answer to questions to a document that was once before the Kwekwe civil court in the same land dispute.
Mandipa however objected saying Manyakara was a lands officer and not a judicial officer and therefore was not competent to respond to such inquiries.
The Kwekwe case, he said was moreover challenged and dismissed at the High Court.
Dube ruled that the state prosecution could not examine his witness using the Kwekwe court document.
The state alleges that Simbi used his wife to forge an offer letter, which offer letter was allegedly used to claim ownership of the land.
But in their defence the accused argued that they were among a group of beneficiaries resettled by a committee from the Midlands war veterans and were therefore improperly singled out among other settlers.