The trial of a white security expert in Zimbabwe charged with illegally possessing weapons has failed to take off, a lawyer said on Friday.
Defence lawyer Trust Maanda told the media that state prosecutors on Thursday applied to amend the charges against Michael Hitschmann before proceeding to trial.
Hitschmann, a registered arms dealer in the eastern border city of Mutare, is facing charges of possessing weapons for purposes of banditry.
The former police reservist has not yet had a chance to plead, but has already argued he is not guilty in court papers, Maanda said.
He could face life imprisonment if convicted.
Hitschmann was arrested in March after police found what they claimed was a cache of weapons at his house in Mutare.
Prosecutors told a Mutare court on Thursday that they left some weapons off the charge sheet, said Maanda.
They now want to amend the charges to include those weapons and defence lawyers in turn need time to amend their defence outline, he said.
He said court proceedings were set to continue on Monday.
Several opposition officials, including an MP from the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), were arrested along with Hitschmann in March.
They were accused of plotting to topple the government and assassinate President Robert Mugabe.
But charges against the MDC officials were later withdrawn due to the absence of evidence.
The state claims Hitschmann was part of a shadowy paramilitary group called the Zimbabwe Freedom Movement that it claims wants to oust the government. — Sapa