NPA setback as Marry Mubaiwa assault accuser struggles with memory

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HARARE – Marry Mubaiwa’s former child minder Delight Munyoro on Wednesday told a court that she had forgotten some of the events that took place during and after her assault, allegedly by the ex-wife of vice president Constantino Chiwenga.

Munyoro was testifying on the first day of Mubaiwa’s trial for assault before Harare magistrate Learnmore Mapiye.

Her testimony, however, left the prosecution case hanging by a thread as the defence pushed back.

Prosecutors accuse Mubaiwa of assaulting Munyoro at an exclusive Harare school where one of her children was enrolled sometime in 2020. The attack, the state alleges, came after Munyoro denied Mubaiwa – who was separated from Chiwenga at the time – access to the child.

Taking the witness stand, Munyoro alleged that the former model assaulted her using the back of her hand which was swollen due to a medical condition, but she has forgotten the date because “it was a long time ago.”

Munyoro said the slap left her with a loose tooth which was later removed after she sought medical attention at Parirenyatwa Hospital where she was examined by one Dr Manana.

“I was in the vehicle in the back seat behind the driver and there was Theresa who was seated on my left and the child was seated between us,” Munyoro recalled.

“The accused started shouting and she struck me on the left cheek with the back of her hand. I asked her why she was assaulting me when I was looking after her children.

“She then ordered me to disembark and fight her but I refused. She started insulting me saying I’m a witch and that my days are numbered. After the assault, my tooth was loose and there was blood in my mouth. The tooth was later removed.”

Under cross examination by Mubaiwa’s lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa, Munyoro struggled to remember the sequence of events, or explain some details of the attack.

She also had no recollection of the number of visits she made to Parirenyatwa Hospital.

She told Mtetwa that she also consulted a private doctor, but could not remember his name or the location of the said surgery.

Mtetwa asked her how she could get injured and have a tooth removed after being assaulted with a hand that was swollen.

Munyoro then changed her statement, saying it was a ring on Mubaiwa’s left hand that did the damage.

She also added a new detail missing from her police statement, telling Mtetwa that she had been treated for a headache by a doctor she could remember, but who works out of the CBD in Harare.

Mtetwa told Munyoro that her story was a fictitious tale she was being made to tell the court by Chiwenga, who is eager to see his ex-wife jailed.

The trial was postponed to March 28.

Chiwenga has filed a string of criminal charges against Mubaiwa, including claims that she attempted to kill him in a South African hospital in 2019.

Mubaiwa recently stood trial on allegations that she attempted to upgrade her marriage to Chiwenga from a customary union to civil , without his knowledge. A ruling is pending.

–-ZimLive