Zimbabwe: Court Sets Date for Biti Judgement

The High Court has set March 20 as the judgement day Tendai Biti’s review application for referral to the Constitutional Court of his assault case.

Biti is facing charges assaulting businesswoman and investor Mrs Tatiana Aleshina.

Biti unsuccessfully filed the application for referral to ConCourt before a lower court.

Aggrieved by the dismissal of his application, he approached the High Court saying he has high chances the application could be granted.

High Court judge Justice Rodgers Manyangadze on Wednesday heard the State and defence heads of arguments on the application for review and he set March 20 as his judgement day.

Earlier, Justice Manyangadze had dismissed Biti’s court application to stop the lower court proceedings to allow the determination of this review application.

His argument was that he will deliver the ruling on the application for referral before the next remand date of trial at the lower court. However,, in the present application Biti challenged magistrate Vongai Muchuchuti-Guwuriro’s determination that dismissed his application for referral to ConCourt saying his application has merit to be referred to the Apex Court.

Biti had said his trial will not be fair and had his application for recusal of the magistrate dismissed.

He said the magistrate was biased in his case.

But the State represented by Mr Michael Reza opposed that application saying the applications by Biti were vexatious and frivolous.

The State also said the applications were only to delay the proceedings that had taken two years without any progress.

Mr Reza also said Biti had filed recusal of magistrates on more than three occasions, and an application for referral to ConCourt on two occasions.

However, magistrate Muchuchuti-Guwuriro ruled that the trial proceedings should go ahead.