FORMER Finance minister Tendai Biti was yesterday found guilty of verbally assaulting a local investor Tatiana Aleshina after a full trial.
Biti, who was being represented by Alec Muchadehama, denied the charge where he is alleged to have called Aleshina “stupid” at the Harare Magistrates Court in 2020.
Magistrate Vongai Muchuchuti Guwuriro said most of Biti's defence was centred on alleging that his constitutional rights were being violated but he did not submit any evidence.
Guwuriro said although Biti trivialised the case, it was the circumstances that could determine the seriousness of a matter.
She said four witnesses testified in the matter and they all corroborated each other in their testimonies.
Guwuriro said although Biti challenged the testimony of Givemore Kasekete whom he described as a ghost, he failed to provide evidence that he was really a ghost saying the court could not rely on his word of mouth.
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Guwuriro further said Biti’s anger was deduced when he talked of Kenneth Sharpe who was not involved in the case he was facing.
She said Biti did not challenge that Kasekete and Michael van Blerk were at the court when the incident happened, adding that this aided the complainant’s allegations.
“It was not rebutted that van Blerk stood between the complainant and the accused. The State managed to prove its case against the accused. I have no doubt that the accused uttered those words and for those reasons I found the accused person guilty,” Guwuriro said.
The matter was postponed to today for sentencing.