The trial of one of the suspects involved in the alleged Gushungo Dairy farm bomb scare which opened on Friday at the Harare Magistrate’s Court saw the State Media publishing what strongly appears to be a u-turn on the charges.
The development saw the official government broadcaster discounting the terrorism charge of a bomb attack plot, labelling it a mere “scare.”
The headline title in the ZBC news read: “Gushungo Dairy bomb scare: Suspect trial opens”.
Meanwhile the trial was convened with the accused, Borman Ngwenya, filing five different applications.
Ngwenya is facing one count of possession of weapons of sabotage and another count of contravening Section 9(1) of the Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act Chapter 9.24 that deals with financing of terrorist offences.
The state represented by Mr Michael Reza had brought Owen Kuchata to testify.
Kuchata was sentenced after pleading guilty to the same charges and is now supposed to testify against his accomplices.
Before the state could call its witness, Ngwenya filed an application challenging the splitting of the two counts he is facing.
He also sought the court to produce evidence of ownership of Gushungo Dairy farm.
However, the state led by Mr Reza indicated it has been made clear from the onset that the farm does not belong to the government but to the First Family.
Ngwenya through his legal counsel also filed another application seeking the release of the docket in which he is charged for treason.
The state indicated the docket is not yet complete.
The accused further applied to the court to order access to information of communication of his telephone line, a request that the state believes can be done by the accused in his personal capacity without a court order.
Ngwenya also challenged what he said is selective prosecution arguing charges for some of his accomplices were withdrawn.