Ex-wife of Zimbabwe's vice-president freed after collapse of attempted murder case

Marry Mubaiwa was charged in 2019, after her then husband Gen Constantino Chiwenga accused her of trying to impede his medical treatment in South Africa.

Ordering her release, a magistrate said Mubaiwa had suffered mental, physical and financial prejudice during the trial, state-owned daily the Herald said.

Harare magistrate Musaiona Shotgame ruled against the State's bid to postpone proceedings in a case that had been nearing the stage of Chiwenga's testimony before the trial was thrown into uncertainty by the elevation of the presiding magistrate to the High Court. 

The ruling was made after the state asked for the trial to be postponed by a month in order to engage witnesses.

However, Shotgame refused, bringing a major development in a case that has remained unresolved for seven years. 

"Ah tahwina isu (we have won). I'm so happy. Mrs B has done a lot of work. She has done very well. She has done great. It has been unfair, but today brought justice. I'm so proud of her," Mubaiwa said, praising her lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa. 

Her lawyer described the ruling as a victory that had come too late, because her client's rights had been violated by the delay in the trial.

"A judgment like this ought to have come even before 2022, especially when Mary went through serious health issues," she said.

"For the past 22 months, this case has not gone on because the complainant was not coming to court."

Mtetwa said the magistrate had correctly questioned why no arrest warrant had been issued against Chiwenga, who repeatedly failed to attend court despite being warned.

She also welcomed his observations on equality before the law, saying Mubaiwa's lengthy stay on remand was unjustifiable.

"I'm glad he talked about the issue of equality of all before the law, that Marry's rights were violated because seven years on remand is pretty long. Yes, it is victory but it is hollow because it came so late," she said. 

The lawyer said the defence was aware that the State might seek to reopen the matter, adding that they would deal with any such move when it arose.

Mubaiwa, Chiwenga’s former wife, has faced a series of criminal proceedings following the breakdown of their marriage in 2019. 

The attempted murder allegations stem from events during Chiwenga’s hospitalisation in South Africa, when he was receiving treatment for a serious medical condition.

During earlier proceedings, the State’s case included testimony from Chiwenga’s personal doctor, former Deputy Health Minister John Mangwiro, who alleged that Mubaiwa pulled out an intravenous tube inserted into the vice president’s chest while he was hospitalised.

Mangwiro told the court that he heard Chiwenga screaming in agony after the alleged incident, prompting medical personnel to rush into the room.

He said the incident did not cause significant damage because staff intervened before the situation deteriorated.

"There was nothing we could do, the accused was a very powerful woman at that time. She would decide what to do next," Mangwiro told the court during his testimony.

In 2011, vice-president Chiwenga married former model Marry Mubaiwa under customary law, and the couple went on to have three children together. Their relationship collapsed in late 2019 while Chiwenga was receiving critical medical treatment in South Africa. 

Upon his return, Chiwenga initiated a high-profile divorce, which was officially recognized when courts ruled the customary marriage ended in November 2019 after he paid a traditional divorce token (gupuro).

As Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF), General Constantino Chiwenga was the chief architect of the November 2017 military intervention that ended President Robert Mugabe’s 37-year rule. 

Following Mugabe’s dismissal of Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa - a move intended to clear a path for Mugabe’s wife, Grace, to seize power - Chiwenga issued a direct public warning against political purges targeting war veterans. 

Days later, military forces took control of Harare and placed Mugabe under house arrest.