Staff Reporter
THE separation of trial application brought before the High Court by former Justice Minister, Sacky Shanghala, and two of his co-accused culminated in another postponement after it came to light that the Prosecutor General (PG), the accused, and the state prosecutors had a meeting outside the confines of court in an attempt for the PG to help some of the Fishrot accused in acquiring legal representation.
The meeting with the PG, held on 9th September 2024 in a boardroom, became a bone of contention between State Prosecutor Advocate Ed Marondedze and former Justice Minister Shanghala, with Shanghala dishing out his language skills, using the Shona word “Kunyeba”, which means “to lie”, to describe Marondedze, who he said was not honest to the court about the meeting. Shanghala, businessman James Hatuikulipi, and Pius Mwatelulo filed a separation of trial application on the basis that they would not wish to continue with the Fishrot trial until they acquired legal representation.
“We have seen the allegations made in the affidavit by the applicants. The only fact in that affidavit is that indeed there was a meeting. If I look at the affidavit, some of the averments have been fine-tuned and twisted and are different from what was recorded, my lord. To that effect, it will require an affidavit from the PG herself to explain to the court what transpired in that meeting,” Marondedze said to Judge Moses Chinhengo when inquired about the meeting.
He further explained that when the PG met the applicants, the intention was not to interfere with the Fishrot trial but to see the way forward and whether it was feasible in the circumstances for the applicants to receive legal representation. “The state is attempting to see how they can be assisted with legal aid. The state wishes to approach the Director of Legal Aid, with all the facts of what has been done so far, and to see what the accused have done so far with regard to trying to acquire legal aid,” Marondedze said.
He added that the state wishes to do this to put a stop to the interlocutory applications brought forth by the accused due to their issues of legal representation, which he said delays the trial. Marondedze added that the issue of not being legally represented cannot be a basis for a separation of trial and that the state is opposing the application for the separation of trial.
“Mr. Marondedze said the meeting took place; that was the only fact apparently in my application,” Shanghala said, responding to the averments made by the State Prosecutor. He added that while the State Prosecutors said they had recorded the meeting, he also has a recording of it, and that it should be played live in court to set the record straight. He added that while Marondedze said the meeting had been merely two hours, the recording in his possession is 2 hours and 50 minutes long.
At this point, Shanghala used the word “Kunyeba”, adding that there is a problem with people not being honest with the court.
“There is adjoint between the PG and her staff…. I felt that the PG’s meeting was initiated from a genuine concern from the PG. She said, ‘I am really concerned about the fact that you are not legally represented.’ It is a serious consideration of Article 5,” Shanghala said.
The matter was postponed to 11th November 2024 to give an opportunity for the outcome on legal aid considerations and talks that the PG would have with the Legal Aid Directorate as well as the Executive Director within the Ministry of Justice to see if the accused can be afforded legal aid by the state.
