A High Court judge has criticised opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) senior official Tendai Biti for accusing a Harare magistrate and senior prosecutor of being biased against him.
In a ruling on Biti’s High Court application seeking the
recusal of magistrate Vongai Muchuchuti-Guwuriro and prosecutor Michael Reza in
a matter he is on trial for allegedly assaulting a Russian businesswoman
Tatiana Aleshina outside the Harare magistrates’ court, High Court judge
Justice Tawanda Chitapi dismissed the application, saying there was no evidence
of bias as alleged.
The former Harare East Member of Parliament is also seeking
that the October 13, 2021 order dismissing the application for a postponement
and ordering the hearing to proceed in the absence of the applicant’s legal
practitioners be set aside.
Biti was also seeking the setting aside of proceedings in
the matter before Muchuchuti-Guwuriro and the stay of his criminal case.
But in his ruling, Tawanda Chitapi accused Biti of “regrettably”
using extreme language in his application.
“I turn to consider the grounds of review.
“Before I do so however, I need to consider some
depositions of the applicant in the founding affidavit, which regrettably shows
use of intemperate language,” Chitapi’s
ruling read in part.
“The above pronouncement shows scant respect for the first
respondent and amounted to a personal attack on the first respondent.”
“The rules of practice and procedure are very simple.
“When a litigant is not happy with a decision, the litigant
does not attack or criticize the person of the judicial officer for the
decision.
“The decision must be obeyed until set aside by a competent
court with power to do so.”
Biti argued that he became the subject of media frenzy and
demonisation by then Zanu PF acting spokesperson Patrick Chinamasa, who and the
Information permanent secretary Ndabaningi Mangwana, denounced him for
allegedly assaulting a woman during the week when the nation was observing a
campaign against gender-based violence. Standard
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