The trial of Borman Ngwenya, who is accused of attempting to petrol-bomb the First Family’s Alpha Omega Dairy, continued yesterday with the accused telling the court that he only got to know Zimbabwe People’s Front political party president Owen Kuchata last year at the Zimbabwe Defence Forces celebrations.
In his defence whilst being led by his lawyer, Mr Exactly Mangezi, Ngwenya (30) said Kuchata approaced him on the day in question asking him to link him up with a female soldier identified as Rumbidzai Matsanga who was part of a team he was commanding.
Ngwenya is facing charges of insurgency, sabotage, banditry or terrorism.
“I didn’t know Kuchata was a member of an opposition party until a time when Matsanga who was now in a love affair with him told me that his profile picture was written President 2018,” he said.
Ngwenya told the court that he asked Kuchata several times if he was involved in any opposition political party, but he refused to disclose anything to him saying soldiers were not to be trusted in such things.
“One day, I was surprised to hear that Sergeant Mahachi and Chitimbe came looking for me at my house since I was on leave. I proceeded to my workplace that day and saw Sergeant Mahachi. After about 10 minutes, he came to me with military police and they arrested me,” said Ngwenya.
Ngwenya said he slept in the cells and was taken to 2 Intelligence Company the following day where Sergeant Mahachi showed him a picture in his mobile phone of him and Kuchata.
He said Sergeant Mahachi asked him whether he knew that Kuchata was the leader of an opposition party. “I told Sergeant Mahachi that my communication with Kuchata was centred on the fact that we come from the same rural home,” he said.
Harare magistrate Mrs Fadzai Mtombeni deferred the matter to April 22 for continuation.
Allegations are that police received a tip-off that Kuchata, Ngwenya, Solomon Makumbe (29) and Silas Pfupa (37) were planning to bomb Alpha Omega Dairy’s processing plant and tuckshop during the night.
The dairy’s processing plant and tuck- shop are located at Gushungo Dairy Estate, Jumbo Road in Mazowe. Acting on the tip-off, the police proceeded to the farm and laid an ambush about 100 metres from the quartet’s target.
Around 10pm, the detectives saw the men approaching the dairy’s processing plant and immediately arrested them. They searched them and recovered four Molotov cocktails (petrol bombs), ammonium nitrate, nails and sand in 750 millilitres empty brandy bottles.
In a separae case, a soldier who was on the police wanted list on allegations of raping a 14-year-old maid on two occasions, tried to strike a police officer who wanted to arrest him with a hoe as he attempted to evade arrest, the court heard on Tuesday.
The cop had to unleash a sniffer dog on him in a bid to save his life, but Seven Munetsi (31) also attempted to kill the dog.
Munetsi had gone into hiding after the housemaid had filed rape charges against him.
He was initially charged with rape when he appeared before regional magistrate Ms Fadzai Mthombeni.
After a full trial, Ms Mthombeni was convinced that it was a consensual relationship and convicted Munetsi of a lesser charge of having sexual intercourse with a girl under the legal age of con- sent.
On the two counts, Munetsi was fined $500 (or six months jail).
On the third count of resisting arrest, Munetsi was fined $100 (or one month). In aggravation, prosecutor Ms Ressy Nyamombe had called for a short but deterrent prison term saying that offences of this nature were on the rise, hence a restraining sentence was called for, to send a signal to would-be of- fenders.
She said Munetsi exposed the girl to risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections.
The State was alleging that sometime in October last year Munetsi took advantage of his wife’s absence and entered a room in which the girl was sleeping and took her to his room. He was intimate with the girl on other occasions.
Eventually the girl went to the police station and made a report.-State Media