HARARE – Vice President Constantino Chiwenga will take the witness stand on December 7 in his ex-wife’s attempted murder trial.
Former deputy health minister John Mangwiro was finally stood down as a witness on Monday.
Former model Marry Mubaiwa denies attempted murder.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) alleges that Mubaiwa attempted to kill Chiwenga by plugging off life supporting devices when the former army general was critically ill and hospitalised in South Africa in July 2019.
Mangwiro testified that Mubaiwa was “very powerful” at the time and they could not control her.
“There was nothing we could do, she was a very powerful woman at that time. She made the decisions and she would sometimes request privacy with Chiwenga. I made reports to the office of the president by phone,” he said.
Previously, Mangwiro said Mubaiwa’s actions around Chiwenga suggested that she wanted him dead.
“When she came to visit him, she would make sure that we all went out. When she walked in, the patient would be awake and when she left the patient would be non-responsive and in critical condition,” he told the Harare Magistrates Court.
Several witnesses including Chiwenga’s nurses and security details have also testified against Mubaiwa, who got married to Chiwenga in 2011 after leaving footballer husband Shingi Kawondera.
Mubaiwa is also on trial in a case in which she is accused of money laundering and fraud.
