Biti assault case ruling set for Thursday

OPPOSITION politician Tendai Biti will know his fate this Thursday in a case where the Harare lawyer is accused of assaulting a Russian national.

Harare magistrate Vongai Guuriro Muchuchuti confirmed the development.

The Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) Vice President has been on trial over the matter since 2020.

He denies assaulting Russian national Tatiana Aleshina.

Magistrate Muchuchuti has been accused of bias by Biti who even approached the High Court seeking to have her and prosecutor Michael Reza removed from the case.

High Court judge, Justice Tawanda Chitapi, ruled that there was no evidence that the magistrate and prosecutor were biased.

Justice Chitapi added that higher courts were also "very reluctant" to intervene in matters that were pending before the lower courts.

"If every decision by a presiding officer that one party disagreed with could go to a higher court on review or appeal while the matter was still in progress, then delays would be intolerable.

"In rare cases where someone's rights could be seriously infringed otherwise, a higher court could intervene, but this is very rare," Chitapi ruled.

Meanwhile, the row between Biti and Aleshina continues on other fronts with the two currently suing each other at the High Court.

Aleshina sued Biti for defamation while the CCC vice president in turn sued her for causing his "wrongful arrest and detention".

Both cases are still pending.