HIV saga: Legislator summoned to court

Bulawayo Bureau
INSIZA legislator Siyabonga Malandu Ncube (MDC-N), who is being accused of deliberately infecting a Bulawayo journalist with HIV was yesterday brought to court, but was not placed on remand. He was summoned to appear in court again today.
Ncube - from the Professor Welshman Ncube-led MDC faction - came to court at Tredgold Building in the company of two police officers and his lawyer, Mlweliwe-nkululeko Ncube, of Munjanja and Associates in the morning.
EARLIER REPORT
He was initially taken to the provincial courts' office before the matter was refe-rred to the office of the area public prosecutor, Mr Simon Nleya.
It was further referred to prosecutor-in-charge at the Bulawayo regional courts, Mr Patrobs Dube, who read the docket before interviewing Ncube and the complainant.
Just before lunchtime, Mr Dube, was still writing his opinion on the charges and had to ask the police officers to bring Ncu-be back after lunch.
Ncube spent the lunch break at Bula-wayo Central Police Station.
MDC supporters, who had come to hear the case, also dispersed and were back in court after lunch this time in bigger numbers.
In the afternoon, Mr Nleya and the senior public prosecutor for the Western region, Mrs Martha Cheda, held consultations and tried to seek an opinion from Harare but with no joy. It was then decided that Ncube be summoned to appear in court today.
It was late in the afternoon that he fina-lly gained his freedom after being served with summons to appear in court today.
Ncube will face two charges of contravening Section 79 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, Chapter 9;23 (deliberate infecting another person with HIV) and contravening a section of the Posts and
Telecommunications Act (sending an abusive message).
He was arrested on Tuesday after a female journalist with whom he had a two-year relationship last Friday made a report at Bulawayo Central Police Station.
She is accusing the legislator of deliberately infecting her with HIV after the two started dating in August 2009 and had been intimate up to July last year, when the relationship broke down.

Source: Herald