FORMER Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Prisca Mupfumira’s lawyer as well as private psychiatrist have claimed that their client is mentally unfit to stand trial on corruption charges she is facing, and request that the trial which was set to resume on 9th December be moved to some date in April next year.
Mupfumira’s lawyer Charles Chinyama told deputy chief magistrate Crispen Mberewere that his client had an operation in October. As a result, a private psychiatrist had recommended a maximum of three months to assess her mental well-being.
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Chinyama requested Mupfumira’s trial to be postponed to April next year.
However, prosecutor Clement Chimbare said Mupfumira should be assessed by independent specialists to ascertain her mental wellness before her trial can be postponed.
Mupfumira and former Public Service permanent secretary Ngoni Masoka, who she is jointly charged with, were set to go on trial in Harare from 9 to 13th December.
Mupfumira, who faces corruption charges involving US$95 million public funds which were held by the National Social Security Authority (NSSA), was arrested by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) on 25th July last year.
She subsequently spent two months in remand prison, during which time President Emmerson Mnangagwa fired her from Cabinet.
Mupfumira was released on bail on 27th September, coupled with stringent conditions.