Taibu cleared of charges

Tatenda Taibu has been acquitted of assaulting Zimbabwe Cricket's general finance manager. The Harare Magistrates' Court found "glaring inconsistencies" in the prosecution's evidence, describing it as discredited and unreliable.

Taibu had been charged with assaulting Esther Lupepe, allegedly over payments owed to him by ZC. But Tapiwa Godzi, the magistrate, said the court was still in doubt as to how the assault was alleged to have been perpetrated. "It's either this case was fabricated or the testimony of the witnesses is grossly exaggerated to the extent of making it unbelievable," Godzi said. "In the premises, the application for discharge at the close of the State's case is hereby granted. The accused is accordingly found not guilty and acquitted. It would be futile to put the accused person to his defence."

Taibu had protested his innocence throughout the proceeding, and countered that the accusation is part of a wider plot by ZC to silence him from going public over concerns of the board's handling of funds and the poor incomes of players.

Taibu has had a fractious relationship with senior board officials since he walked out in 2005 after alleging threats had been made against his family. He subsequently returned, but following the accusations by Lupepe he was only persuaded at the last minute to join the national squad when it headed to Canada for a quadrangular Twenty20 tournament.