News / National
Komichi's trial date set
15 Aug 2013 at 08:51hrs | Views
The trial of MDC-T deputy national chairman Morgan Komichi who is facing allegations of contravening the country's electoral laws will begin on August 27. The trial date was given by magistrate Donald Ndirowei on Saturday after Komichi's bail application failed at the High Court.
Komichi was arrested on July 28, on allegations of misrepresenting to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, that he had "picked up" from a dust bin, a sealed tamper-proof envelope with a special vote ballot paper at a Harare hotel.
He is also accused of marking the ballot papers in favour of his party since investigations showed that the ballot papers were not marked by the voter and could not have been marked at the polling station as they do not bear the secret mark of the presiding officer of the polling station.
MDC-T's chief election agent is facing charges of contravening the Electoral Act which outlaws the unauthorised taking, destroying or opening of ballot papers. The State alleges that on July 25, ZEC officials were in a boardroom committee room at the Harare International Conference Centre in a meeting chaired by Justice Rita Makarau.
Komichi, allegedly, approached ZEC deputy director of public relations Tendai Pamire and told him he had an issue to raise with the chairperson who agreed to meet him. In the meeting, Komichi alleged that an unnamed person informed him that they had picked up an envelope from a dustbin at the HICC where the special vote was being processed.
Komichi further alleged that he had opened it out of curiosity and discovered that there were ballot papers.
Based on the envelope, Komichi alleged that ZEC was destroying the ballots which were cast by the police in favour of MDC-T.
The ballot in question belonged to Constable Mugove Chiginya, who had apparently voted for MDC-T during the special vote.
The envelope was passed around ZEC officials who established it to be a plastic tamper-proof envelope used to issue ballots to authorised special voters.
ZEC allegedly noted that all the ballot papers did not have the presiding officer mark and that two were marked SV while the presidential ballot paper was not marked SV.
The commission reported the matter to the police and investigations showed that Chiginya had failed to vote in the special voting exercise as his name had not been called out by the presiding officer.
Michael Mugabe of the Attorney-General's Office prosecuted.
Komichi was arrested on July 28, on allegations of misrepresenting to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, that he had "picked up" from a dust bin, a sealed tamper-proof envelope with a special vote ballot paper at a Harare hotel.
He is also accused of marking the ballot papers in favour of his party since investigations showed that the ballot papers were not marked by the voter and could not have been marked at the polling station as they do not bear the secret mark of the presiding officer of the polling station.
MDC-T's chief election agent is facing charges of contravening the Electoral Act which outlaws the unauthorised taking, destroying or opening of ballot papers. The State alleges that on July 25, ZEC officials were in a boardroom committee room at the Harare International Conference Centre in a meeting chaired by Justice Rita Makarau.
Komichi, allegedly, approached ZEC deputy director of public relations Tendai Pamire and told him he had an issue to raise with the chairperson who agreed to meet him. In the meeting, Komichi alleged that an unnamed person informed him that they had picked up an envelope from a dustbin at the HICC where the special vote was being processed.
Komichi further alleged that he had opened it out of curiosity and discovered that there were ballot papers.
Based on the envelope, Komichi alleged that ZEC was destroying the ballots which were cast by the police in favour of MDC-T.
The ballot in question belonged to Constable Mugove Chiginya, who had apparently voted for MDC-T during the special vote.
The envelope was passed around ZEC officials who established it to be a plastic tamper-proof envelope used to issue ballots to authorised special voters.
ZEC allegedly noted that all the ballot papers did not have the presiding officer mark and that two were marked SV while the presidential ballot paper was not marked SV.
The commission reported the matter to the police and investigations showed that Chiginya had failed to vote in the special voting exercise as his name had not been called out by the presiding officer.
Michael Mugabe of the Attorney-General's Office prosecuted.
Source - herald
