The nine council officials defamation charges arise from allegations of leaking or publishing a report implicating businessman Philip Chiyangwa in a scandal that saw him allegedly acquire council land without following procedure. We seek the provisional postponement of the trial to 26 May. The defence has filed for a review of the placing of the accused on remand. Until the determination (by the High Court) is made we cannot resume trial, said Benson Taruvinga, from the Attorney Generals office to magistrate Olivia Mariga, before a full courtroom last Thursday.
Defence lawyer Happias Zhou told ZimOnline that he had filed an application with the High Court to review Marigas decision to place the nine council officials on remand. We want the magistrates decision quashed because it was unreasonable and irrational, said Zhou. Four journalists from the local Standard newspaper editor-in-chief Vincent Kahiya, editor Nevanji Madanhire and reporters Jeniffer Dube and Feluna Nleya who co-authored the story that exposed the land scandal that had been exposed by the Harare City Councils special committee on land attended the court after they were summonsed to be state witnesses. The journalists quoted a special land investigations report on Chiyangwas properties.
The state alleges that the nine council officials leaked a report which was published in May by the local The Standard newspaper, and The Sunday Times of South Africa and which portrayed Chiyangwa, a relative of President Robert Mugabe, as a fraudster. Incensed by the contents of the report Chiyangwa has since sued both council and The Standard newspaper for a whooping US$900 million saying he had suffered losses to his companies and damages to his reputation because of the council report. The 54-page report compiled by a committee of Harare city councilors alleges that Chiyangwa and Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo another relative of Mugabe and senior member of Zanu (PF) party with assistance of two council employees, illegally grabbed vast tracts of prime land from the city on the cheap.
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