Former City of Harare chief building inspector Roy Nyabvure has reported acting deputy prosecutor general Michael Reza to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) over what he said is defeating the course of justice following his arrest at the Harare Magistrates Court in November last year.
According to the ZACC papers, Reza is accused of obstructing the course of justice through a letter he wrote to the police in which he said Nyabvure had finished testifying in a case involving Pokugara Properties yet he was still on the witness stand in one of the cases.
“On or about the 14th of October 2022 and in a letter to the Zimbabwe Republic Police, during the course of or for the purpose of judicial proceedings the accused person, knowing that the Zimbabwe Republic Police were investigating a possible offence, through a statement made otherwise than upon oath made a false declaration and stated the following:
“I refer to a letter dates 10 October 2022 by Mutumbwa Mugabe and Partners in which they say that Mr Roy Nyabvure is still testifying as a witness. Please be advised that Mr Nyabvure was a State witness in the Perjury trial against Michael van Blerk and Pokugara Properties (Pvt) Ltd. He has since led his evidence in Chief, was cross examined and re-examined. He was thereafter excused by the court as his witness duties were completed. If he is a witness in any other case and if I may be favoured with the CRB, I will be able to check and verify for you.”
“The accused made this statement well knowing that, and intending that the Zimbabwe Republic Police be misled into believing that the said Roy Nyabvure was no longer a witness in any proceedings, despite the fact that the accused person knew that Mr Roy Nyabvure was a witness in one of four different cases. The statements by the accused person were deliberately misleading and were materially and perjuriously false. The accused person had no lawful right to act in the manner that he did and evidence can be led from witnesses of the prosecution,” read the charge sheet
In his statement to the Commission, Nyabvure confirmed that he was still a State witness and also a witness for defence.
“Since 2019, I have been assisting the police and the State as a witness in a number of judicial proceedings that are being heard in four different courts at Harare Magistrate’s Court. In three of the cases, involving Perjury and Malicious Damage to Property, I am a state witness, while in the fourth case, a fraud case, I am a witness for the defence.
“I have testified in one case where a verdict has been given, and am currently testifying in another, while I am yet to the called in the remainder. On or around September 2022 the accused person, Michael Reza, appeared at the High Court before Mr Justice Musithu to argue against an application for a permanent stay of prosecution filed by the accused in the fraud case, one George Katsimberis. The High Court ruled on 13 September 2022 that the application by George Katsimberis be dismissed and that all four cases would proceed.
“Sometime in October 2022 I received a call from the police to attend at their offices to discuss the matters on which I am testifying in court. Having been warned by magistrates not to discuss my testimony with anyone, I approached my legal practitioners to find out what their advice would be. They in turn wrote to the police indicating that I was a witness in ongoing criminal proceedings and seeking clarification on what the police wanted to do. I was subsequently arrested at Harare magistrate court on 8 November 2022 having attended to testify in one of the ongoing cases on which I am a witness,” said Nyabvure
