Evidence against Gukurahundi Minister unreliable

Hwange magistrate Collet Ncube on Tuesday tore into the state's case against national healing Minister Moses Mzila Ndlovu who was accused of allegedly uttering statements on Gukurahundi deemed prejudicial to the State saying the evidence against him was not reliable.

Ndlovu was arrested in April last year alongside Roman Catholic Church priest Father Marko Mnkandla after they addressed victims of the Gukurahundi massacres at Silwanyana Primary School in Lupane.

"It's a delicate duty to deduce what is reliable from the evidence, especially taking into account discrepancies in the witnesses' testimony," Ncube said.

"The evidence that was before the court is unreliable and is full of discrepancies so that no one knows what exactly happened.

"One wonders if the three witnesses were attending one meeting and it is basically on that evidence that the accused is acquitted."

The acquittal came after the minister made an application for discharge last week.

When the case was adjourned last week, the State had indicated that it would drop the charges citing a weak case.