State says Biti’s documents are irrelevant to assa...

State says Biti’s documents are irrelevant to assault case

Zim Now Writer

National Assembly Member for Harare East Tendai Biti yesterday was told by the State that the bulky documents he submitted have nothing to do with the assault case before the courts.

Biti, was under cross-examination by prosecutor Michael Reza in a case he is accused of verbally assaulting Russian investor Tatiana Aleshina at the Harare Magistrates’ Court in 2020.

The court heard that the Harare East legislator submitted several documents that did not mention the name of the complainant.

Biti insisted though that Aleshina was linked to the submitted documents.

Reza asked Biti if the documents he submitted of events which occurred between 2004 and 2009 had anything to do with the alleged violation of his rights as claimed.

“Confirm you alleged your two rights have been violated in this case. Here there are a lot of documentary exhibits you submitted and it covers the period 2004 to December 2009. Confirm during that period you had not met the complainant,” Reza asked.

“Yes,” Biti answered.

“Confirm you cannot find the name of the complainant Tatiana Aleshina in all these documents you filed yourself before the court in relation to this assault case,” Reza asked again.

Biti confirmed that there was no name of the complainant.

Reza then asked how the documents Biti submitted in court for Constitutional Court referral help him in the violation of his rights by the complainant, whose name did not appear in the documents.

Biti insisted the documents were a demonstration of how his rights were violated.

Some of the documents, Reza noted, included the appointment of a commission of inquiry into the City of Harare by former Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo, documents from the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, High Court cases involving Fairclot Investments, but all had nothing to do with the assault charge Biti was facing.

‘Why do you always bring issues of Fairclot Investments, George Katsimberis court cases, are you their lawyer?” Reza asked.

“I am not their lawyer in the High Court that I mentioned, but I am their lawyer in their criminal case,” Biti responded.

When asked whether he was bitter that his clients did not receive their alleged payment of $4 million for the Airport Road project or whether he was bitter against the complainant that he had lost cases for his clients, Biti responded that he was not bitter.

“You’re bitter that the complainant is taking money from Zimbabwe and putting it in her handbag and going outside the country, so that when you see her you become bitter and want to vent your anger on her?” Reza asked.

But the Harare east MP said he did not know the complainant when he met her at the court on the fateful day.

Reza argued that all the exhibits Biti brought up had absolutely nothing to do with the case of assault that was before the court, accusing Biti of lying in court that he only prosecuted opposition members.

Magistrate Vongai Muchuchuti-Guwuriro will rule on 30 January, 2023 whether Biti’s case qualifies for ConCourt referral or not.