THE Zanu PF supporter who challenged President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s ascendancy to the party presidency Sybeth Musengezi on Tuesday appeared before Harare magistrate Yeukai Dzuda for trial. Musengezi was arrested for fraudulently acquiring a Zanu PF membership card after alledgedly providing a false address.
He was represented by Nqobani Sithole and Doug Coltart. The State called Godwills Masimirembwa, the Zanu PF provincial chairperson for Harare who told the court that Musengezi provided a false address in his application for Zanu PF membership.
However, Musengezi’s counsel argued that the matter was political and he was being punished for challenging Mnangagwa’s ascendancy at the High Court. His lawyers questioned why Musengezi’s Zanu PF membership card was not revoked.
The court also heard that Musengezi was still a member of Zanu PF because he has a party membership card and is paying subscriptions. However, Masimirembwa said he was not aware of the payments, adding that if he was a member, the matter would have been dealt with internally.
He claimed that Musengezi has not been paying subscriptions since 2019. Masimirembwa told the court that investigations started after he made the High Court application, adding that the membership card would have been confiscated if Musengezi attempted to pay subscriptions.
The defence lawyers also told the court that Musengezi has been a Zanu PF party member since 2006 and he was registered in Mt Darwin, Mashonaland Central province. The matter was remanded to October 18 for trial continuation.
Source Newsday
