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Prosper Dembedza Court Correspondent

Harare City Council head of town planning Priscilla Charumbira, who is facing allegations of abuse of office relating to changes in land use without following laid-down procedures, now wants a trial date given to her on June 10 or be removed from remand.

The trial was supposed to start yesterday, but the State applied for the matter to be postponed, saying the docket only reached the prosecution team on Monday.

Through her lawyer Professor Lovemore Madhuku, Charumbira said if a trial was not given on June 10, she must be removed from remand.

This would mean that she would no longer be subject to bail conditions and would not have to make frequent appearances in court.

But the State could still prosecute her by summonsing her to court for trial.

Harare regional magistrate Mr Stanford Mambanje deferred the case to June 10 for a possible trial date.

The charges arise over three hectares of land at the corner of Boshoff Drive and Seke Road and zoned for recreational purposes.

It is the State’s case that sometime in 2016, Charumbira, in her capacity as the town planner and knowing laws regarding change of reservation of property in question, acted contrary to her duties by unlawfully supervising rezoning the land from recreational to commercial, without the approval of the then Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and Urban Development.