After probably one of the most vicious cross examinations of an investigating officer by a defence lawyer, a Harare magistrate has freed Advocate Thabani Mpofu on $20 000 bail.
Initially Mpofu had been charged on two cases, but the State added a third.
Prosecutors also opposed bail, arguing that Mpofu, who had handed himself over to the police on Monday, was a flight risk.
But Beatrice Mtetwa, in Mpofu’s defence, led a legal onslaught on the state, questioning the rationale behind the state’s opposition to bail.
Investigating officer, Erasmus Mazhawidza was left exposed as Mtwetwa fought in Mpofu’s corner.
Mtetwa said Mazhawidza had displayed ignorance on the relationship between an instructing attorney and an advocate.
The police have not arrested the other lawyers implicated with Mpofu, claiming that investigations were still ongoing.
In her cross examination, Mtetwa further accused the state of opposing bail not because of the seriousness of the charges, but rather because of who Mpofu was.
Mpofu is accused of inventing a Simbarashe Zuze, who signed an affidavit in a Constitutional Court Challenge.
But Mtetwa said Zuze had been to the police several times to prove that he was a real person and that the police had collected 15 samples of his signature.
Following the bail hearing, Chief Magistrate Munamato Mutevedzi granted Mpofu $20 000 bail among other conditions.
Mtetwa said they were going to challenge the charges against Mpofu.
An unfazed Mpofu said he will be appearing before the Supreme Court to argue a matter on Thursday at 9am.
“I will be in the Supreme Court at 9am tomorrow, but I don’t want to talk about that, I want to talk about Zimbabweans, their spirit some have been praying for me, some were beaten for me and I am very happy that they gave me that support, the lawyers and all the advocates who stood by me,” he said following his release.
Mpofu was arrested on Monday and initially charged defeating or obstructing the course of justice for allegedly falsifying information by submitting an affidavit of a non-existent person to the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) in January 2019 challenging the appointment of Prosecutor-General (PG) Kumbirai Hodzi. – News Day
