Lawyers in Zimbabwe Weapons-Terror Case Ask Judge to Recuse Himself

Bennett, treasurer for the Movement For Democratic Change formation of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, was arrested in February as the national unity government was being formed and his case has become a flash point within the government. President Robert Mugabe has refused to swear Bennett in as deputy minister of agriculture.

Lead defense lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa, a prominent human rights defender, said her team learned only yesterday that Judge Chinembiri Bhunu handled a bail application filed by Peter Michael Hitschmann in 2006 when he was arrested in connection with an alleged plot to assassinate President Mugabe during a visit to Mutare, Manicaland.

State prosecutors intend to call Hitschmann as a key witness in the Bennett case though Hitschmann says statements he made incriminating Bennett were coerced.

In his 2006 ruling Bhunu dismissed any presumption of innocence on the part of Hitschmann saying evidence for his conviction weighed too heavily. Mtetwa's team wants him to recuse himself in Bennett's case given that the two cases are closely related.

The judge promised a response to the motion by Monday.

Bhunu yesterday turned down a defense motion to bar testimony by Hitschmann on grounds that his testimony was coerced and conflicts with other statements he has made since.

Mtetwa told Voa Studio 7 reporter Sandra Nyaira that Bhunu’s presence on the... ...

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