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Tendai Rupapa Senior Court Reporter
AT least 12 witnesses are lined up to testify in the case in which MDC-T deputy national chairman Morgen Komichi is accused of breaching the country’s electoral laws. Komichi is facing a charge of fraud and contravening the Electoral Act after he was allegedly found in possession of an envelope containing ballot papers belonging to a policeman, Constable Mugove Chiginya of Mbare in Harare, which he claimed to have picked in a dustbin at a city hotel.

Defence lawyer Mr Alec Muchadehama said that he was furnished with 12 statements, an indication that the authors of the statements will testify against his client.

The trial is likely to take long as the third witness Ms Shamiso Chahuruva, a Zimbabwe Electoral Commissioner chief legal officer is still testifying in the trial which started early last month.

The defence took almost three weeks cross-examining the second witness, Zec deputy director of public relations Mr Tendai Pamire.
However in yesterday’s proceedings while cross-examining Ms Chahuruva, Mr Muchadehama accused Zec of conniving with the Registrar General’s office to tamper with the voters’ roll.

Mr Muchadehama asked Ms Chahuruva if she was aware that some people who voted in 2008 failed to find their names in the voters roll with some who had been registered in Harare discovering that they were now registered in other places.

Ms Chahuruva, however, denied the allegations adding that the commission was not responsible for the registration of voters as that was the duty of the RG’s office.

She said the commission only played a supervisory role. Mr Muchadehama further said that Cst Chiginya was registered as a voter in four constituencies and in response Ms Chahuruva said she was not involved in the processing of the special votes therefore could neither deny nor confirm it.

“I put it to you that Chiginya in his statement said he was registered in Mbare and the grey –tamper proof envelop indicated that he was supposed to vote in Southerton while details on the khaki envelop suggested he was supposed to vote in Harare East constituency.
“I suggest either Zec was confused or it was causing confusion or it was deliberately manipulating the system in a well orchestrated rigging mechanism,” he said.

Ms Chahuruva told the court that she could not comment on that.
The trial continues today before Mr Tendai Mahwe.