A Gweru magistrate has ruled that Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) 2023 election candidate for Chirumanzu South constituency, Patrick Cheza, must be put to his defence on charges of assaulting Tourism minister Barbra Rwodzi.
Cheza is charged alongside four other party activists.
They recently applied for discharge saying the state had failed to prove its case.
Magistrate Beaulity Dube, however, said the accused persons should be put on their defence before postponing the matter to July 31.
The accused’s lawyers Esau Mandipa and Leopold Mudisi made an application for discharge at the close of the state case, arguing that the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case against their clients.
In her ruling last Thursday, Dube said the accused should be put to their defence where they have to prove that the state has no case against them.
Cheza (50) is being charged with inciting public violence alongside CCC activists Elias Maduveko (26), Magmaster Chidyawuye (21), Delight Zinyemba (22) and Courage Mugova (20).
It is alleged that Cheza incited CCC members to beat up Rwodzi, the Zanu PF Chirumanzi South lawmaker, after his vehicle was involved in an accident with a car belonging to the Zanu PF Tourism minister.
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During the trial, Rwodzi, however, admitted that Cheza did not assault and neither did she see any of the accused persons beating her.
Allegations are that on August 24, Cheza was driving along Charandura-Chaka dust road when he arrived at a road traffic accident involving his car and that driven by the minister’s son Chengetai.
The car that got involved in an accident was being driven by one of Cheza's aides.
It is alleged that when Cheza arrived at the accident scene, he shouted at Rwodzi demanding to know why she wanted to kill CCC supporters yet she had won in the harmonised elections.
Cheza, it is alleged, instructed the four to attack Rwodzi.
But all the accused persons deny the allegations levelled against them arguing that they are being persecuted on political grounds.
