CCC spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere wants national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi summoned as a defence witness in her trial on a charge of communicating a falsehood that a police officer beat a nine-month-old baby to death with a baton.
She wants the police statement he issued formally about the event tendered into the court record.
Any document tendered into a court record has to be done through the author of the document, who can testify that they were indeed the author.
So, Mahere requested that the Clerk of Court subpoena Asst Comm Nyathi to appear in court on February 17.
Mahere was placed on her defence after the prosecution established that she had tweeted an incorrect statement and the court thus wanted her to explain herself over the tweet and hear her side of the story.
She confirmed tweeting when she took to the witness stand to give her explanation.
“I confirm that I tweeted what I heard in the video,” said Mahere. “There are two tweets. When I tweeted this, I had seen a video which depicts a woman holding a lifeless limp baby. The woman was grabbing a police officer by the collar.
“The police officer is holding a baton and everyone is heard saying in that video that the police officer had killed a baby . . . auraya mwana.”
Mahere confirmed that the video she posted was published in various news articles.
Asked whether she had confirmed of the death of the child or not before tweeting, Mahere said: “From the evidence led in court the mother believed the baby had died and also everybody around, including eyewitnesses, said that the police officer had killed the baby by hitting the baby on the head.
“The investigating officer also confirms that there were several articles saying the baby was beaten. I had no way I could know that the baby had died.”
Mahere said the police statement also described the conduct of the police on the day in question as “errant behaviour”, and it is this statement that she wants entered in full into the court record as part of her defence,
Mrs Sheilah Mupindu and Mrs Netsai Mushayabasa appeared for the State, while lawyers Mr David Drury and Mr Chris Mhike appeared for Mahere. – The Herald
