Lawyers representing the woman allegedly criminally insulted by CCC Vice President Tendai Biti have written to CCC leader Nelson Chamisa asking him to reverse a party decision to call for demonstrations during Biti’s trial or publicly disassociate the party from the calls if it had nothing to do with them.
In both cases, the lawyers, Scanlen and Holderness, want
the trial to proceed without political interference, without the complainant
and the witnesses feeling threatened, and in accordance with the due process of
the law.
At the same time, the law firm has filed a complaint to the
Law Society of Zimbabwe complaining that Biti had breached the Legal Practitioners
Code of Conduct through interfering with witnesses in a pending matter before
the courts.
Biti is facing charges of threatening Ms Tatiana Aleshina,
an international investor, outside Harare Magistrates Court in Gamal Abdel
Nasser Road.
According to the lawyers, the message that was circulating
read: “Urgent Notice!!! Vice President Hon Tendai Biti will be appearing at
Rotten Row Court tomorrow at 11.15am, in Court 9, He is currently facing
frivolous charges of assault. The state is now in an overdrive to politicise
the matter, and there are plots to convict him. Let’s attend in solidarity with
our Champion.”
The lawyers found the message, aimed at mobilising party
supporters to attend allegedly in solidarity with Biti, to be a sad indictment for
justice and quite disturbing to their client.
“Our client finds it disturbing and is concerned about the
implications and potential threat to the security of her person if the action
solicited by the message is carried out particularly if the crowd mobilised
harbours feelings of ill-will towards witnesses in the case and she being the
complainant in the matter,” said Mr Evans Moyo, a senior partner at Scanlen and
Holderness.
The message, he said, unnecessarily politicises a matter
that is unconcerned with the opposition political party and that involved
simple due process in respect of a complaint.
Mr Moyo said the message gave the impression, which the
lawyers believed was incorrect, that some are immune from due process when they
wrong others because there could be a fear that the matter will turn political
because of their political standing.
“We are instructed to inquire if the message reflects the
party’s position or is from an official source of communication for the party,”
queried Mr Moyo.
“If it is from the party we urge you to reconsider and
withdraw the call to allow for due process without fear, hindrance or
intimidation of witnesses, in particular our client who feels threatened by the
message and its potential repercussions.
“If it is not, we request that your party responds to the
message and disassociates with it so as to depoliticise the matter and allow
for due process and the rule of law to prevail.”
The law firm has since filed a complaint with the Law
Society of Zimbabwe over Biti’s alleged interfering with witnesses in a matter
pending before the courts. Herald
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