Former Zanu PF Mashonaland West chairman and Hurungwe West independent candidate Temba Mliswa appeared at Chinhoyi Magistrates’ Court facing theft and possession of firearms charges.
The owner of the firearms, Myles Walter Hall, told the court that the people who took “my farm house” are the same people who stole my firearms and unfortunately the accused was not among the people.
“The accused is not the one who took the firearms from the farm, but the people who forcibly took my farm house,” Hall told the court on Thursday at the start of Mliswa’s trial.
The former farmer said he knew the people who took the farm house and he reported the missing firearms at Mhangura Police Station. Hall was the then owner of Somerhill Farm where the firearms were stolen.
Mliswa is facing two counts of theft and possession of firearms.
Another State witness, officer-in-charge Law and Order Detective Inspector Neverson Kupfuma, told the court that at the time of his arrest, Mliswa was not in possession of the firearms and he was not near the fowl run when the firearms were found.
Mliswa’s employee, Steadfine Mashiri, helped the police to recover the firearms and told the court it was only him who knew where the firearms were hidden.
Kupfuma told the court during cross examination by Mliswa’s lawyer Musindo Dunira Hungwe that the accused was not in possession of firearms at the time of the arrest.
Kupfuma said he was left with the accused in the Gym hall while the other two officers went with Mashiri to recover the firearms in the fowl-run. The case was postponed to April 27 for continuation of trial.
The case was heard before magistrate Felix Mawadze while Herald Matura prosecuted.