Mnangagwa legitimacy challenger wants trial live-streamed

Zanu-PF activist, Sybeth Musengezi, who is challenging President Emmerson Mnangagwa's position as Zanu-PF's first secretary, is demanding to have his trial live-streamed.

The trial is set to kick off on October 3, 2022.

Musengezi said this soon after Justice Mary Zimba-Dube delivered a judgement granting the joining of former Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) Chairperson, Nguni Goodness in the proceedings.

Nguni wants to join to defend President Mnangagwa as an interested party member accusing Musengezi to be a non-member of Zanu-PF.

Speaking to the media Musengezi's lawyer, Nqobani Sithole, said everyone must have access to the proceedings.

"Tomorrow we are coming back to make an application that we want this matter on the 3rd of October to be live-streamed so that everybody has access to it, remember Zanu-PF is a big and colossal party so they say, so whatever transpires in that court should be known by everybody and, therefore, it is our considered view that it will be in the best interest of everyone," Sithole said.

However, Mnangagwa's defence team is opposed to the trial being live-streamed.

"We want all the journalists in the courtroom, and you write what you see, but you cannot live-stream, they want to politicise it.

"We cannot allow them to continue political grandstanding to damage our party and he can afford to do that because he is not a member of our party," Nguni said.

He added: "We do not want them grandstanding and telling some of their lies and we want to prove to this nation how fraudulent he is, we have the evidence, he is a fraudulent member.

"I am a loyal member of Zanu-PF, and the Constitution says that we must protect the image of the party and not what Mr Musengezi is doing."