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Temba Duber Senior Reporter
THE Zimbabwean embassy in Zambia is making frantic efforts to ensure the Bulawayo trucker who was allegedly falsely arrested for armed robbery in the neighbouring country and has been languishing without trial at Livingstone State Prison since January, gets justice. The embassy became aware of the issue of the driver after it was published in Chronicle on Wednesday.

Qhubekani Dube, 44, of Pumula East suburb was arrested on January 12, charged with robbing Inter Africa Bureau De Change in Kazungula of $17,000 on December 31, last year.

Prosecutors in the case have allegedly demanded $2,000 or K10,000 to drop the case.
The country’s deputy ambassador to Zambia, Marshall Mututu yesterday told Chronicle they had met Zambian authorities and were awaiting their response.
“We became aware of the story this week. The company he works for (Hermis Transport Congo, of the Democratic Republic of Congo) has sent us information. We have made representations to our Zambian counterparts and we await their response.”

Mututu said it was imperative that Dube faces trial as soon as possible for justice to prevail.
He said the embassy would be monitoring the situation while waiting for a response.

According to letters that Dube wrote from prison and images of pages from his passport, he was in the DRC when the alleged armed robbery occurred. His case has been set for trial at least four times but has failed to take off after the prosecutor, the robbery victim or both, failed to show up in court.

Hermis Transport Congo has sent evidence to Zambian authorities, corroborated by about 40 other truckers, to show that Dube was in the DRC at the time the crime was committed but the courts have seemingly ignored it.

His children have since stopped going to school because they have no one to pay their fees.
Dube has written letters from prison to organisations that include various media houses in Zambia, international human rights organisations, embassies in both countries, Cross Border Truckers’ Association, stating his case and appealing for assistance.

His mother, Gogo Lucy Dube, 73, shed tears as she narrated her son’s ordeal to Chronicle.
She said the family could not meet the demands for $2,000 or K10,000 from the prosecutor (name withheld).

In a letter addressed to the Ministry of Home Affairs in Zimbabwe, Dube said he was innocent but was being held to ransom by unscrupulous court officials.