This was revealed by deputy prosecutor general Mr Michael
Reza while cross examining Biti in his defence case yesterday.
Biti is facing charges of assaulting businesswoman and
investor Mrs Aleshina at the Harare Magistrates Courts sometime in 2020.
Mr Reza put it to Biti that he hates Mrs Aleshina because
her companies are more successful than those of his client George Katsimberis.
Biti, however, responded by questioning the type of
yardstick which Mr Reza was using to measure who is more successful than the
other.
Biti went on to say that inasmuch as he knows, Katsimberis
was more successful.
The deputy prosecutor-general further put it to Biti that
as a result of Mrs Aleshina’s companies, Zimbabwe was now attracting more
investment.
He also said that Biti’s clients have lost all superior
court cases which they had against Mrs Aleshina’s companies.
Mr Reza went on to say Biti assaulted the complainant
primarily because she is the face of WestProperties, but he denied assaulting
her.
Messrs Tafara Chirambira who was representing the State
with Mr Reza said the trial had took so many years as a result of applications
for postponements at the instigation of the accused person.
In his defence, Biti indicated that the Codification and
Reform Act had done away with the charge of assault by gesture and therefore he
should be acquitted . He however failed to explain how he wanted the court to
arrive at such a decision when Mr Chirambira highlighted to him the Section
89(1)(b) of the Codification and Reform Act, which criminalized threatening
whether by words or gestures, to assault another person, intending to inspire,
or realising that there is a real risk or possibility of inspiring, in the mind
of the person threatened a reasonable fear or belief that force will
immediately be used against him or her.
Mr Chirambira also questioned if after all his experience
as a lawyer and lawmaker Biti was then urging the court to ignore Section
89(1)b as he argued that the definition of assault in Section 88 did not
include threats. On this, Biti was
evasive, and even when pressed, refused to give a straight answer.
During the previous sitting Mr Reza said Biti had the
motive and opportunity to assault Mrs Aleshina at the Harare Magistrates Court
in 2020. Herald
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