A Harare magistrate acquitted Marry Mubaiwa of trying to kill Zimbabwe's vice president.

An acquittal ends the attempted-murder count. It does not decide the other cases iHarare says are still in court, and it does not turn a doctor's testimony into a finding. The date is not clean. iHarare says Tuesday, Oct. 27. The Maravi Post says Monday. Oct. 27, 2026, was a Tuesday, so those are not the same day. The Herald's story is dated Tuesday and does not pick one.

iHarare reported that Harare Regional Magistrate Musaiona Shortgame acquitted Marry Mubaiwa on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026, at the Harare Magistrates Court, of attempting to murder her ex-husband, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga. The Herald, in a story dated Oct. 27, reported the same magistrate acquitted Mary Mubaiwa of attempting to kill Chiwenga by unplugging his life-support system while he was in a South African hospital. The Herald did not say whether that ruling was Monday or Tuesday. The Maravi Post, also dated Oct. 27, reported Shortgame cleared Marry Mubaiwa on Monday, and it spelled the vice president's surname Chiwanga. Pindula News, in a story dated Oct. 27, used Marry and Chiwenga and did not call the ruling Monday. Monday was Oct. 26. Tuesday was Oct. 27. The outlets agree on the magistrate and the acquittal. They do not agree on the day, and they do not agree on the spelling of her first name.

The Herald reported the acquittal followed a State application to postpone the trial to Nov. 25 so prosecutors could engage witnesses. iHarare reported the magistrate refused that postponement. In the ruling, The Herald, iHarare and Pindula News reported, Shortgame said Mubaiwa had suffered mental, physical and financial prejudice. The Herald and iHarare described the case as being in its seventh year. The Maravi Post described a case that had run for more than five years. Pindula News reported she had been on remand throughout the seven years, and that last week the Harare Magistrates' Court ordered the trial to start over after the presiding magistrate, Feresi Chakanyuka, was elevated to the High Court. Pindula News reported the trial had already heard Chiwenga's personal doctor, former deputy health minister John Mangwiro, and that the vice president had been expected to testify next. Pindula News reported Mangwiro told the court that in July 2019, while Chiwenga was hospitalized in South Africa, he heard him screaming after Mubaiwa allegedly pulled an intravenous tube from his chest, that staff came in quickly, and that no significant damage was caused. That is testimony Pindula News reported. It is not what the magistrate found. The finding iHarare, The Herald, Pindula News and the Maravi Post reported is an acquittal.

What she was accused of, and what remains, depends on the outlet. The Maravi Post and iHarare reported the allegation was that in July 2019, in Pretoria, she unplugged life-support equipment while Chiwenga was being treated. The Maravi Post reported he was later transferred to China and recovered, and that she denied the charge and called it politically motivated and tied to the divorce. The Maravi Post and iHarare reported she was arrested in December 2019, that she uses a wheelchair, and that her right arm and left leg have been amputated. Pindula News reported an arm and a leg were amputated during the proceedings, and that she had asked to be removed from remand because of the delays. Pindula News named the prosecutor who asked for time to find witnesses as Lancelot Mutsokoti. The Maravi Post and iHarare reported she was convicted of marriage forgery in April 2022 and acquitted in October 2022 of assaulting a domestic worker. iHarare reported she still faces other charges, including money laundering and exchange-control violations. The Maravi Post reported other matters remain. iHarare, citing ZimLive, reported that outside court she praised lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa: "We won. Ms B has done a lot of work. She's done very well. It's been unfair, but today we got justice. I'm so proud of her." The acquittal is the end of the attempted-murder count. The counts iHarare says are still pending are still charges. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.