Citizens Coalition for Change activist and former Mkoba North legislator Amos Chibaya has been acquitted of an incitement to commit public violence charge. Harare provincial magistrate Tapiwa Kuhudzai ruled that the evidence presented by the State was insufficient to convict Chibaya.
The State’s case relied on testimony from four police officers, but their evidence was deemed unreliable by the magistrate. Kuhudzai noted that the number of videos mentioned by witnesses Pangani Gwati and Simbarashe Masaka differed, and the videos were never presented in court.
Chibaya’s lawyer, Chris Mhike, applied for discharge at the close of the State case, arguing that the evidence was not incriminating and the video evidence had disappeared. Mhike submitted that the State failed to establish a prima facie case against Chibaya.
One of the witnesses, Ropafadzo Mutapiri, the officer-in-charge at Harare Magistrates Court, testified that she heard nothing incriminating from Chibaya. She conceded that commenting on election irregularities was not a crime and that Chibaya had successfully managed a crowd when asked to do so by police and the National Prosecuting Authority.
Magistrate Kuhudzai ruled that proceeding with the defense case would violate Chibaya’s rights. The application for discharge was granted, and Chibaya was found not guilty and acquitted.
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