Bennett trial State anxieties and remote controls exposed

Roy Bennett under state persecution for being White and yet capable of attracting the support of Blacks while sustaining MDC-T as a financially stable and viable political alternative to Zanu PF

Chinembiri Bhunu the High Court of Zimbabwe Judge who is presiding over the high stacks political trial of MDC-T Treasurer General Roy Bennett over terrorism, banditry and insurgency allegations has deferred delivering the ruling he had promised the nation on 31 March 2010 to 10 May 2010.

His failure to do so was as he put it. “due to the failure by his secretariat to have the transcript of the matter ready in time for him to peruse the record and make an informed determination.”

To pacify the accused whom the majority believe is being persecuted for his pivotal role in attempts to topple Zanu PF from power through the formidable MDC-T political formation led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, the judge waived the bail condition requiring Bennett to report to the police once every two weeks and ruled that the accused could apply to have his passport released if he needed to travel abroad.

But before that police detectives had served Bennett with a summons to appear in a Mutare court on new charges of unlawfully possessing 92 tons of maize at his farm in 2001. Yes 2001 that is some 9 years ago.

The new charges against Bennett are indicative of the anxiety and panic within the AG’s office over the weaknesses that were exposed by the close of the state case chief among them;

 The impeachment of key witness Peter Hitschmann
 The tempering with arms exhibits
 The disclosure that investigations into who paid what amount into Hitschmann’s Mozambique account were incomplete
 The barring of torture induced statements and video footage as legitimate evidence and
 The unconvincing testimony by the so called State’s IT expert one Mr. Perekayi Denshad Mutsetse.

The AG appears convinced that with all these loose ends the Judge will rule against the state's case before the accused is put on his defense.

And to ensure that he does not walk out a free man with a potential claim to be sworn in as the Deputy Agriculture Minister it became necessary to prefer the possession of 92 tons of maize in 2001 charge so that Bennett will remain perpetually facing criminal charges.

That would give President Mugabe a fresh ground upon which to decline attesting Bennett into the government as Deputy Minister of Agriculture as he has done to date on the basis of the shaky banditry, terrorism and insurgency charges that were due to be decided against the state by Justice Bhunu on 31 march 2010.

Away from the Courts there were political negotiations that were taking place and hoped to support Justice Bhunu’s acquittal of the accused who by the time of acquittal it was hoped would have been withdrawn from designation as Deputy Agriculture Minister by his Party and assigned elsewhere.

Unfortunately the negotiations stalled and the signal Justice Bhunu required to acquit the accused did not materialize even after delaying proceedings n court by over 2 hours while waiting for the green light to do so from the political negotiators that never was to be.

In an interview with VOA Studio 7 radio Bennett disclosed that the Judge was rude and discourteous to him and his Counsel when delivering the postponement ruling on the matter.

The judge was indeed angry and uncomfortable not with the accused and his counsel but rather with the political interference in his work that had barred him from delivering a determination that the State security agents and prosecution services were already anticipating as evidenced by the preference of new charges on the accused just before the expected pronouncement of Bhunu’s judgement.

Now the distraught judge has been forced to defer the matter to 10 May 2010 when he is sure that the political negotiations will have been finalized and the President will have used the occasion of the Independence celebrations to hint on what course of action will be expected of the judge in this matter should the political stalemate over his assignment be still continuing.

No wonder why the MDC-T national spokesman Nelson Chamisa has come out strongly declaring that Bennett’s assignment will not be compromised to suit the political whims of Zanu PF that are not only outside the spirit and letter of the GPA but also unconstitutional.

The MDC-T is fully aware that it has the upper hand in the Bennett case as with or without his appointment his political persecution through trumped up charges in courts is drawing immense political sympathy and support not just for Bennett as a person but the party he belongs to.