VICE-PRESIDENT Constantino Chiwenga’s estranged wife, Marry Mubaiwa may have lost the battle to have her case of allegedly trying to kill her ex-husband tried in South Africa.
It emerged that Zimbabwean authorities invoked the Mutual Legal Assistance under (Southern African Development Community) Sadc Protocol Article 2 to have the matter tried in Zimbabwe.
Mubaiwa wanted her case to be tried in South Africa since the alleged incident happened in the neighbouring country in 2019.
The National Prosecuting Authority, through the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs invoked the Sadc protocol to bring the matter to Zimbabwe.
After the Zimbabwean government engaged Pretoria, the South African Police Services (Saps) and the internal security intelligence arm, Hawks, they were given authority to investigate the matter in that country on behalf of Harare prosecuting authorities.
Under article 2 of the Sadc Mutual Legal Assistance, State parties provide each other with the widest possible measure of mutual legal assistance in criminal matters.
Mutual legal assistance is any assistance given by the requested State in respect of investigations, prosecutions or proceedings in criminal matters.
These include investigations, prosecutions or proceedings relating to offences concerning transnational organised crime, corruption, taxation, custom duties and foreign exchange control among others.
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“Assistance shall be provided without regard to whether the conduct which is the subject of investigation, prosecution, or proceedings in the requesting State would constitute an offence under the laws of the requested State,” partly read the protocol.
“Assistance to be provided includes: locating and identifying persons, property, objects and items, serving documents, including documents seeking the attendance of persons and providing returns of such service, providing information, documents and records, providing objects and temporary transfer of exhibits, search and seizure, taking evidence or obtaining statements or both, authorising the presence of persons from the requesting State at the execution of requests.”
In the attempted murder case, it was revealed that the Saps and the Hawks recorded statements from nurses and doctors who medically examined Chiwenga when he was hospitalised in that country.
It was also revealed that the statements recorded from Chiwenga and Mubaiwa’s security team were also handed over to the South African authorities for scrutiny.
Last week, Mubaiwa was in court facing attempted murder charges.
The court also heard that Mubaiwa reportedly harassed nurses, doctors and security officials at a NetCare Hospital in South African.
The trial is continuing on April 11.
Mubaiwa is accused of attempting to kill the former head of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces when he was seriously ill at a South African hospital in 2019.
Allegations are that, from June 22 to July 8, 2019 at Sheraton Hotel in Pretoria, as well as at NetCare Hospital, Pretoria East, Mubaiwa allegedly tried to kill Chiwenga.
It is alleged that Mubaiwa refused to take her ex-husband to hospital in time for purposes of emergency medical attention.
After he was eventually admitted to hospital, Mubaiwa allegedly removed Chiwenga’s life support system.
