HARARE – The Harare High Court has reserved ruling on an urgent chamber application filed by Marry Mubaiwa, the estranged wife of Vice President Constantino Chiwenga wife seeking custody of the couple’s three children and access to their Borrowdale mansion.
This was after Chiwenga’s lawyers Wilson Manase, instructing Advocate Lewis Uriri, argued that the former army general cannot reside at the same house with Marry since she is accused of plotting to kill him.
Mubaiwa’s lawyer Advocate Taona Nyamakura had earlier on told the media that parties were opting for an out of court settlement.
Manase, speaking after the hearing, said this had not been possible.
“Mind you there is an attempted murder charge in which the applicant is said to have interfered with the life of the vice president. So they cannot live together. These are the issues we discussed and there were also issues to do with property,” he said.
“That was the subject of the case and I think we addressed that very well. So we just wait to hear the judgement when it is ready. We cannot comment much until the judge has said something.”
Justice Pisirai Kwenda reserved judgment.
Mubaiwa was arrested on December 14 last year accused of the attempted murder of Chiwenga in a South African hospital as well as money laundering and fraud.
Chiwenga took custody of the children and has deployed soldiers to stop her returning to the home they shared after she was granted bail earlier this month.
In a separate case, Justice Pisirai Kwenda postponed ruling on a matter in which the state is seeking Mubaiwa’s bail variation.
The state wants her to surrender all her three passports and wants her to stay at a different address not her matrimonial home to avoid interference with her husband, the chief witness in her forgery case.
As part of her bail conditions, Mubaiwa was ordered to surrender title deeds to a Highlands home which belongs to her father, Keni Mubaiwa, as surety.
Mubaiwa was also ordered to surrender her diplomatic passport, report to the police once a fortnight on Fridays, not to interfere with witnesses and to reside at her Borrowdale mansion.
The state argues that Chiwenga resides at the same address and she therefore cannot go back.
Mubaiwa had surrendered one passport before Chiwenga, through his lawyers, wrote to the Prosecutor General to say that Mubaiwa has two more passports: a diplomatic passport expiring on December 11 this year, and an ordinary passport expiring on February 21, 2022.
Chiwenga wanted Mubaiwa’s bail to be revoked, arguing that she had deceived the court.
