Knowledge Gosha, 32, pleaded not guilty to physical abuse and malicious damage to property charges when he appeared before Harare magistrate Annie Ndiraya.
An officer at Marlborough police station was stabbed on the thigh with a knife by her estranged husband after she had refused to give her former lover the password to her mobile phone.
He was married to Portia Masasa, 33.
Gosha is out of custody on $30 bail. The accused yesterday told the court that he wanted the case to be tried at another court alleging that Masasa had links to senior members in the Judicial Service Commission who were influencing proceedings.
Gosha also alleged that Masasa worked at the Harare magistrate court hence there was no guarantee of a fair trial as prosecutors are not treating this case fairly. The magistrate told Gosha to stop making unfounded claims but make submissions that support his application.
In response, the state led by prosecutor Hatizivo Chatikobo challenged the application by Gosha as malicious and frivolous, citing the complainant works at Malborough police station. Magistrate Ndiraya remanded the matter to today for ruling on the accused’s request.
The state is alleging that on August 6 the accused visited the complainant in the evening and demanded the latter to take him to the bedroom. In the bedroom, the accused demanded the complainant enter her phone’s access password, an instruction the complainant denied.
Further allegations are that when Masasa refused, she was thoroughly beaten by the accused, who then stabbed her with a knife on the right thigh and broke her phone.
