Prophetic Healing and Deliverance Ministries leader, Walter Magaya’s passport was yesterday released by the court, after his lawyer made an application for further relaxation of his bail conditions.
BY DESMoND CHINGARANDE
Magaya is being accused of raping a 24-year-old Midlands State University student at a Mount Pleasant house in June last year.
The application was granted by Harare provincial magistrate, Vakai Douglas Chikwekwe, who scrapped all the reporting conditions and remanded the matter to November 15.
Magaya is being represented by lawyers, Admire Rubaya, Oliver Marwa and Everson Chatambudza.
The State was expected to furnish Magaya with his trial date, but told the court that investigations on the new developments in the matter had taken long to be completed.
“We are applying for the postponement of the matter to November 15 on the reason that we received the docket just yesterday (Thursday) and it needs to be sent to the Prosecutor-General’s Office for perusal,” prosecutor, Sebastian Mutizirwa said.
However, Rubaya opposed the postponement, saying the State was not respecting the court, adding it had made promises of providing a trial date on three different occasions, but had not done so.
“Your worship, your sister magistrate (Bianca Makwande) warned the State on our last appearance that if it failed to provide a trial date for our client, she would consider relaxing bail conditions or removing him from remand,” he said.
“I will not trust the attitude of the State that on November 15 trial date will be provided. Your worship, this court is being abused by the attitude of the State, if you are going to let this behaviour by the State go unchecked there will be no rule of law in this court.”
Marwa echoed the same sentiments, saying the duty of the State was to interface between the court and the investigating officers and urged the court to order investigations to be completed.
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| Prophet Walter Magaya bail conditions relaxed |
Chikwekwe then eventually ordered the State to provide Magaya with the trial date on November 15, adding if it fails, Magaya would be removed from remand.
