Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) Member of Parliament Maureen Kademaunga and a Harare councillor have been acquitted for attempted murder charges after being on remand since 2023.
Harare magistrate Estere Chivasa acquitted Kademaunga, the Sunningdale MP, and ward 10 councillor Clayd Mashozhera on Friday.
The duo were being charged alongside two residents Noel Munhuweyi and Daudi Kharim Jessub.
They were facing three counts of attempted murder and malicious damage to property under some sections of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.
The complainants were identified as Cyril Nyauchi, Artwell Marwa and Spencer Mudarikwa, all Zanu PF members.
Nyauchi and Marwa were allegedly assaulted by CCC members while distributing food to ruling party election agents at various polling stations within Sunningdale between August 23 and 24, 2023.
They were travelling in a Toyota Spacio and were allegedly blocked by the accused and 10 others when they reached Metro Peech main entrance at the intersection of Seke and Boshoff roads in Sunningdale.
The CCC members were in a convoy consisting of a Toyota Noah, Toyota Mark X, commuter omnibus, Honda Fit and two other vehicles.
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While Jessub and others disembarked from their vehicles, Kademaunga, Mashozhera and Munhuwei remained in their cars.
The CCC members allegedly shattered the windows of the complainants’ vehicle.
They also allegedly assaulted Nyauchi using truncheons, iron bars, small axes and sjamboks and this resulted in him sustaining severe injuries.
On the charge of malicious damage to property, as defined in section 140 of Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, prosecutors charged that US$10 000, tyres, an empty fuel jerry can, a Samsung mobile phone handset and a Nokia mobile phone handset all valued at US$15 600, were all lost during the incident.
Chivasa acquitted Kademaunga and her co-accused at the close of the prosecution case.
They were represented by Tapiwa Muchineripi and Harrison Nkomo of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights.
In the application for discharge at the close of the prosecution case, Muchineripi and Nkomo argued that there was no evidence linking the accused persons to the commission of the alleged offence.
