THE High Court on Tuesday this week acquitted Chirumanzu South candidate for the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) in the August 2023 elections Patrick Cheza and four party activists who were being accused of assaulting Zanu PF legislator and Tourism and Hospitality Industry minister Barbara Rwodzi.
Sitting at the High Court in Masvingo, Justice Ainsley Zisengwe granted Cheza's application for review against the refusal of discharge by Gweru magistrate Beaulity Dube.
Dube had refused to discharge Cheza and his co-accused at the close of the State’s case and the activists’ lawyers, Esau Mandipa and Leopold Mudisi, approached the higher court for a review of the lower court's decision.
Cheza (50) was being charged with inciting public violence alongside CCC activists Elias Maduveko (26), Magmaster Chidyawuye (21), Delight Zinyemba (22) and Courage Mugova (20).
It was alleged that Cheza incited CCC members to beat up Rwodzi after his vehicle was involved in an accident with a car belonging to the Tourism minister.
During trial, Rwodzi, however, admitted that Cheza did not assault and neither did she see any of the accused persons hitting her.
Allegations were that on August 24 last year, Cheza was driving along the Charandura-Chaka dust road when he came across a road traffic accident involving his car and another which was being driven by Chengetai Rwodzi, Barbara Rwodzi's son.
Further allegations were that when Cheza arrived at the accident scene, he allegedly used abusive language against the minister demanding to know why she wanted to kill CCC supporters yet she had just won in the harmonised elections.
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Cheza, it was alleged, instructed the four activists to assault Rwodzi.
The activists denied the charges during trial maintaining that they never assaulted the Zanu PF legislator.
They said they were being politically victimised.
