BY A CORRESPONDENT| The perjury case involving controversial land developer Kenneth Raydon Sharpe’s aide Michael John Van Blerk and suspended City of Harare Town Clerk Hosiah Chisango has continued to drag after both accused persons avoided appearing in court last on flimsy charges.

First to appear in court was suspended City of Harare Town Clerk, Hosiah Chisango who early last week sought his recusal from the case saying he is no-longer the representative of the local authority hence could not stand trial on behalf of the entity.

On Friday, Van Blerk who is Pokugara Properties Managing Director, through his lawyer Advocate Tawanda Zhuwarara said he was too sick to navigate stairs at the court premises.

This forced Harare Magistrate, Stanford Mambanje and state prosecutors to go outside and inspect Van Blerk who was said to be suffering from nervous breakdown.

Both Chisango and Van Blerk stands accused of lying under oath when they submitted affidavits to the High Court swearing that Harare businessman and land developer George Katsimberis did not have approved plans to build a show house on stand 9 of 21 corner Teviotdale and Whitwell Borrowdale.

“For today’s proceedings we have a difficulty in that the first accused (Van Blerk) is not feeling well it has necessitated that for the purposes of today’s proceedings Pokugara Properties be represented by an official merely to be a body in the dock. Mr Michael John Van Blerk is in the parking lot of this court, he is present in the court premise. He is unable to move and navigate the stairs and appear before you,” said Advocate Zhuwarara.

The state represented by Zivanai Macharaga requested that the accused be examined by a State medical officer from two of Harare’s health institutions (Parirenyatwa or Harare Central Hospital) since Doctor Campbell was a personal medical doctor for Van Blerk.

Magistrate Mambanje remanded Van Blerk to June 17, 2021 for trial pending reports from the medical team.