Mamombe’s trial at a standstill

Deputy Chief Magistrate Bianca Makwande has postponed her ruling on whether to accede to the State’s application to have Harare West legislator Joanna Mamombe’s trial separated from her MDC Alliance colleagues.

Last week, State prosecutors Messrs Whisper Mabhaudhi and Michael Reza applied for her charges to be separated from those of Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova, as she is still undergoing treatment on depressive disorder and anxiety.

This comes in the wake of mental examinations she underwent after the court invoked section 26 of the Mental Health Act to ascertain her suitability to stand trial on charges of faking her own abduction and participating in an unlawful demonstration that violated Covid-19 regulations.

The mental illness test results rendered her unfit to stand trial, but the State felt it reasonable for Chimbiri and Marova’s trial to commence, then later deal with Mamombe when she fully recovers.

The two prosecutors told Makwande that separating her from her two colleagues would not prejudice her in anyway but their legal counsel Alec Muchadehama opposed the application, citing that it was feasible for the court to get progress on her treatment before making its decision.

Magistrate Makwande was supposed to have handed down her ruling today but she was overwhelmed with other cases leading her to postpone her ruling to Monday next week. Nhau/Indaba