MDC spokesperson Nelson Chamisa has been sucked into Deputy Youth Minister Thamsanqa Mahlangu’s case of allegations of stealing a cellphone belonging to war veterans leader Joseph Chinotimba.
Chamisa, who is Information Communication Technology minister, was roped into the case during Chinotimba’s testimony on Wednesday before Harare Magistrate Kudakwashe Jarabini.
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Chinotimba had the court in stitches as he narrated how his cellphone was stolen and how he allegedly told Chamisa several times that he suspected Mahlangu had stolen it, pleading with him to get it back.
Mahlangu – the MDC-T national youth chairman – is jointly charged with his personal assistant Malvern Chadamoyo and two Hwange women, Geraldine Phiri and Patience Nyoni, for allegedly stealing Chinotimba’s phone.
All of them deny the charges.
Chinotimba said his Nokia 2310 phone valued at US$40 was stolen on July 17 when he attended Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara’s National Vision 2040 conference at the Harare International Conference Centre (HICC).
He alleged that once his phone was stolen he reported the matter to one of the hotel managers and to Chamisa.
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He said: “There is nothing else that I thought of but to think that the MDC boys that I had sat with stole my phone. I was lucky that Minister Chamisa came to sit close to me when I got into the conference room and that’s when I got the opportunity to tell him the whole story that his people had stolen my phone.
“Chamisa said he would tell Mutambara since he was the one hosting the main function to announce to the people who had gathered there. Mutambara was told around 5pm and said he was going to announce (the loss) to the people.”
Chinotimba further claimed that he called Chamisa the following day following up on his cellphone matter.
“On Saturday evening I called Chamisa and asked him ‘Munodirei kuita mweya yakaipa? Please bring back my phone. It was your people who stole it’. Chamisa told me he would have a meeting with the third accused (Mahlangu) on Monday over the matter,” said Chinotimba.
He insisted that his phone was stolen when he returned from getting his main course during lunch hour. He was sitting next to Mahlangu. Â
The trial continues today with Dowa expected to testify.
Wongai Zhangazha
