The postponement follows a request by the State to allow enough time to notify the Cuban government, through the Ministry of Home Affairs, of the date on which the pathologist, Dr Alviero Aguero would testify.
The State pointed out that diplomatic protocol required that the local Home Affairs ministry must give at least a week’s notification of when Aguero is supposed to testify.
The trial has been stalled in the past because the High Court awaited approval from the Cuban government to have Aguero, who is already stationed in Zimbabwe on secondment from his government, to testify and that has since been done.
Aguero conducted an autopsy on the body of the late Mutedza. Some of the activists, including the party’s Youth Assembly President, Solomon Madzore, were granted bail by the High Court last year while five others, have been in custody since 2011 after High Court Judge, Justice Chinembiri Bhunu ruled that they were a flight risk.
This month, the MDC-T issued a statement claiming that the five were living in filthy conditions.
The party claimed four of the activists were detained in solitary confinement. The five activists are Last Maengahama, who is a member of the party’s National Executive, Glen View Councillor Tungamirai Madzokere, Simon Mapanzure, Yvonne Musarurwa and Rebecca Mafukeni.
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