Biti raises constitutional issues during trial

FORMER Finance minister Tendai Biti's trial for allegedly verbally assaulting a local businesswoman continued today with his defence team raising constitutional issues that were dismissed by the court.

Biti, who was being represented by Alec Muchadehama, accused the ruling  Zanu-PF party, media and the Judiciary of conniving against him in the assault case.

The opposition politician once submitted the same facts during his application for referral to the Constitutional Court in the same matter and these were dismissed by the court, with prosecutor Michael Reza accusing him of unnecessarily delaying trial through frivolous applications.

"He made such applications before and they were dismissed. I don't know whether to cry or laugh.  This application ought to be dismissed. This application is a good example of a bad example," said Reza. He added that the court was now functus officio since the same application was heard by the same court.

While submitting evidence in his defence, Biti told the court that putting the charge on him as done by the State is invalid from a common law point of view. He said it was an infringement of his constitutional rights.

 "Your worship, if you say I'm an idiot ,I will just laugh at you because the word means nothing to me," said Biti.

Magistrate Vongai Guwuriro postponed the matter to November 7 for ruling.

Biti is denying the charge of assaulting Tatiana Aleshina at the Harare Magistrates Court in 2020.