This article was dated yesterday, so the trial begins today.

“The trial of MDC national treasurer and deputy Agriculture Minister designate, Senator Roy Bennett on trumped-up charges of insurgency is due to start in the regional court in Mutare tomorrow.

However, it has come to the attention of the MDC that the Attorney General’s Office is intending to serve indictment papers on Senator Bennett at the start of his trial requesting that the matter be moved to the High Court and that Senator Bennett be remanded in custody.

Senator Bennett was arrested on 13 February 2009 for offences allegedly committed in 2005.

Senator Bennett was initially granted bail in June by the High Court but the State appealed against the bail order with the effect that the case was referred to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court upheld the High Court decision and he was released on bail.

In June 2009 the State set down 13 October as Senator Bennett’s trial’s date in the Regional court in Mutare.

Since then the State has failed to provide Senator Bennett with evidence against him despite numerous demands by his lawyers for them to do so.

The serving of indictment papers to Senator Bennett on a day his trial is scheduled to commence will immediately result in him being remanded in custody.”

Given that the court schedule is full until February next year could quite conceivably mean that Bennett could be in custody until then.

The Minister of Justice - one Patrick Chinamasa, who verbally attacked Bennett in parliament resulting in Bennett wrestling him to the ground and receiving a prison sentence for that from parliament - will be in no rush to have the matter concerning his historic adversary set down.

And the fact that he is a senator and the deputy minister for agriculture designate will sharpen the barb as it is plunged into MDC flesh.

“It is also clear that contrary to the submissions made by the State in June 2009 at the Mutare Magistrates’ Court, the State does not at this stage have evidence to carry out a prosecution against Senator Bennett.

Senator Bennett is keen to prove his innocence at the earliest possible opportunity and thus, in the interests of justice the MDC demands that the case be allowed to proceed in the regional court as mandated. Any other move will be viewed as political interference and persecution by the AG’s office.”

Mugabe has spoken about the case against Bennett, which in itself is prejudicial - he says that he is keen for the matter to be resolved, but cannot issue a presidential edict allowing Bennett clemency until the courts have exhausted their authority.

However, it should be noted that following the Gukurahundi in Matabeleland and the Midlands in the early to mid 1980s, Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo issued a full pardon to all persons involved in that terrible time - whilst no one was on trial for even one of the killings!

How is it that Mugabe can issue pardons for the killings by his own people before the courts had even looked at prosecuting anyone, but is unable to look at some of the same when a senior member of the MDC is facing obviously trumped-up charges - which, by the way, do not include any allegation of killings?

This is a carefully calculated ploy by the Justice Minister himself as he plays for brownie points from the man he has sworn his undying gratitude and allegiance to.

And these people can look each other in the eye without a conscience? Only because they have been practising their twisted patronage for so long they don’t know any better!

Robb WJ Ellis
The Bearded Man