BY MIRIAM MANGWAYA MDC ALLIANCE Harare West legislator Joanah Mamombe will be tried separated from her two alleged accomplices, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova in a case in which they are being accused of faking abduction. Magistrate Bianca Makwande yesterday raised issues with the doctors’ reports on Mamombe who recently suffered from a mental illness. Makwande said there was conflict on when Mamombe, who is under surveillance for mental health issues, would be fit to stand trial, and whether her accomplices could be tried while she healed. Marova and Chimbiri will return to court on December 7, 2020 for trial. It is the State’s case that Mamombe, Chimbiri and Marova stage-managed their alleged abduction by State security agents on May 13, 2020 after holding a demonstration in Warren Park high-density suburb in Harare, with the aim of tarnishing President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s image. The State alleges that the three were captured on CCTV at Belgravia shopping centre. The video was allegedly captured during the time they claimed they had been abducted by State security agents. Mamombe, Chimbiri and Marova are also jointly charged in another matter with other party activists that include MDC Alliance youth leader Obey Sithole, Lovejoy Chitengu and Stanley Manyenga. They are accused of marching from Warren Park shopping centre towards the Harare-Bulawayo Highway during an illegal demonstration.
