Ex-wife of VP freed on attempted murder charge

The former wife of Zimbabwe's Vice-President has been freed from remand after seven years while on trial for his attempted murder, reports BBC News. Marry Mubaiwa was charged in 2019, after her then husband General Constantino Chiwenga accused her of trying to impede his medical treatment in SA. Ordering her release, a magistrate said Mubaiwa had suffered mental, physical and financial prejudice during the trial, state-owned daily The Herald said. The ruling was made after the state asked for the trial to be postponed by a month in order to engage witnesses. 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. The lawyer added that if the state moved for a new trial, they would deal with it when it happened. Mubaiwa was accused of attempting to kill Chiwenga, while he was in hospital in Pretoria. The Vice-President then went to China for four months of treatment. Mubaiwa was remanded in custody and denied bail. In 2017, Chiwenga played a key role in overthrowing then President Robert Mugabe.