Lawyers representing Harare property developer George Katsimberis are pushing for acting deputy prosecutor general Michael Reza to be put to his defence to prove that he allegedly caused the arrest of a witness in a court case.
Katsimberis’s lawyer Tinomudaishe Chinyoka made the
submission in response to Reza’s charge that the businessman was bullying
prosecutors after he demanded that the top prosecutor must recuse himself from
a case where he is accused of forging a house plan.
He said the acting prosecutor general did not respond to
issues raised in the application demanding that he must stop prosecuting the
case because of his alleged bias.
“In the words of Shakespeare, (Reza’s) response is like a
tale, told by a not-so-wise person, full of sound and fury, signifying
nothing,” Chinyoka charged.
The lawyers argue that Reza wrote a letter to the police on
October 14, 2022 alleging that former Harare City Council chief building
inspector Roy Nyabvure was no longer
needed to testify in the case involving Katsimberis.
Nyabvure was subsequently arrested at the Harare
magistrate’s court soon after testifying in a different case where Reza is the
prosecutor.
Chinyoka said by allegedly assisting the police in
arresting Nyabvure the prosecutor had contravened section 69 of the
constitution, which guarantees right to a fair and public trial.
Reza refused to recuse himself saying Katsimberis was
bullying other prosecutors and he was the only court officer who could handle
the businessman.
Chinyoka said the court must direct Reza to make his
rebuttal under oath, which will lead to cross examination.
“The unrebutted allegations, which must be taken as
admitted are that Michael Reza is the one that told the police where to arrest
Roy Nyabvure, contrary to the claims in his letter of 14 October 2022,” he
said.
“He knew that Roy Nyabvure was a state witness and he knew
exactly when Roy Nyabvure was coming to court.
In so doing, he committed acts that are criminal in nature
and a report has been made to the police.
“These allegations are clear from the application. They are
not denied.”
Katsimberis accuses Reza of siding with rival businessman
Ken Sharpe who is the complainant in the case. Standard
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