Glen View ‘murder’ trial to resume next week

By Tichaona Sibanda

The long running trial of seven MDC-T activists, charged with the alleged murder of Glen View police Inspector Petros Mutedza in 2011, will resume next week Wednesday.

The trial was indefinitely postponed in November last year by the presiding Judge Justice Chinembiri Bhunu. Twenty-nine activists were originally arrested after the death of the police office at a bar in Glen View almost three years ago.

Most of the group spent more than a year in prison, with the case slowly dragging on. This is despite a significant lack of evidence to implicate the group.

Last year, 21 of the arrested group were acquitted after the High Court ruled that none of the evidence put forward by the State implicated them on the murder charge.

But seven of the accused will still need to face court action. These are Tungamirai Madzokere, Yvonne Musarurwa, Last Maengahama, Lazarus Maengahama, Edwin Muingiri, Phineas Nhatarikwa, and Paul Rukanda.

Rebecca Mafukeni, another one of the activists, died last year while still detained at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison following several unsuccessful bail attempts.

Three of the MDC-T activists meanwhile have remained detained for close to three years. These are Last Maengahama, Madzokere, and Musarurwa.

A source told SW Radio Africa that the defense team is likely call the activists to testify, so they can give their versions of events on the fateful day. All have insisted that they were not present or anywhere near the disturbances when Officer Mutedza was allegedly stoned to death. SW Radio Africa