FORMER Tourism minister Walter Mzembi, who is facing
criminal abuse of office charges involving $1,6 million, is reportedly
seriously ill and is unlikely to stand trial anytime soon, his lawyer told the
court yesterday.
Mzembi’s lawyer, Job Sikhala, told magistrate Hosea Mujaya
that he travelled to South Africa on Saturday to assess the former minister’s
health and realised that he was not responding to medication.
“Your worship, it’s not by wilful default, the
circumstances are beyond us. I even went to South Africa to do an assessment
and I even saw that my client is seriously irresponsive to the medication. I am
also urging the court to pray for his health as he might not come to court in
the near future,” Sikhala
said.
However, the State represented by Brian Vito told the court
that they were seeking to separate Mzembi’s case from that of his co-accused,
Aaron Mushoriwa and Susanna Makombe Kuhudzayi.
Sikhala did not oppose the separation of records. Mujaya postponed the matter to February 4 for the decision
on the separation of trials. Newsday
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