Lewis Uriri will now be the lead defense counsel in the matter involving Tourism minister Priscah Mupfumira, according to reports.
Chinyama will now be instructing Uriri for the High Court application where the family will be seeking bail application after Mupfumira was remanded in custody for an unprecedented 21 days without the option of bail.
The Cabinet minister is facing charges of using social security money for personal political campaigns, diverting public funds to dubious investments, purchasing top of the range vehicles against protocol.
These are among seven charges bordering on economic prejudice during the time she was Minister of Labour and Social Welfare.
Chinyama led Mupfumira’s defense challenging the production by the state of a certificate in terms of section 32 (3b) (a) of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act [Chapter 9:07] (The Code).
Acting chief magistrate Munamato Mutevedzi ruled that while Chinyama raised some pertinent points, overall his argument fell short in that he was arguing for bail instead of the validity of the certificate.
“The defence led by Mr. Chinyama raised pertinent issues in their attack of the validity of the certificate. The various cases that the defence referred the court to were of no use in this regard because they all dealt with applications for admission to bail. That was not the issue before the court. Chief among the contentions the defence raised was that section 32 (3b) is unconstitutional because it is ultra vires section 50(1) (d) of the Constitution which provides that,” Mutevedzi said in his ruling that locked up Mupfumira for 21 days.
