"Fourteen thousand dollars."
"That is not a great deal to pay for a house, is it?"
"It is not a great deal of house." Tungata's reply was deadpan, and even the judge smiled.
"A motor-car?"
"I have a ministerial vehicle at my disposal." "Foreign bank accounts?"
"None."
"Wives?"
"None--2 he glanced in the direction of Sarah Nyoni who sat in the back row of the gallery" yet," he finished.
"Common-law wives? Other women?"
"My elderly aunt lives in my home. She supervises my household."
"Coming now to the night in question. Can you tell the court why you were on the Karoi road?"
"I
was on my way to Tuti Mission Station."
"For what reason?"
"To visit Miss Nyoni and to speak to her father on a personal matter."
"Your visit had been arranged?"
"Yes, in a telephone conversation with Miss Nyoni."
"You have visited her before on more than one occasion?" "That is so."
"What accommodation did you use on those occasions?" "There was a thatched ffidlu set aside for my use."
"A hut? With a sleeping-mat and open fire?"
"Yes.
"You did not find such lodgings beneath you?"
"On the contrary, I enjoy the opportunity of returning to the traditional ways of my people."
"Did anyone share these lodgings with you?"
"My driver and my bodyguards."
"Miss Nyoni did she visit you in these lodgings?"
"That would have been contrary to our custom and tribal law."
"The prosecutor used the word isifebi what do you make of that?"
"He might aptly apply that word to women of his acquaintance. I know nobody whom it might fit." Again the judge smiled, and the prosecutor's assistant nudged Abel Khori playfully.
"Now, Mr. Minister, was anybody else aware of your intention of visiting Tuti Mission?"
"I made no secret of my intention. I wrote it down in MY desk-diary."
"Do you have that diary?"
"No. I requested my secretary to hand it over to the defence. It is, however, missing from my desk."
"I see. When you ordered your chauffeur to prepare the car, did you inform him of your destination?"
"I did."
"He says you did not."
"Then his memory is at fault or has been affected." Tungata shrugged.
"Very well. Now, on the night that you were driving on the road between Karoi ajl Tud Mission, did you encounter any other vehicle?", "Yes. There was a- truck parked in darkness, off the road, but facing in our direction."
"Will you tell the court what transpired then?"
"The truck-driver switched on his lights, and then flicked them three times.
At the same time he drove forward into the road."
"In such a way as to force your car to halt?"
"That is correct."
"What did you do then?"
"I
said to my driver, "Pull over but be careful. This could be an ambush.""
"You were not expecting to meet the truck then?"
"I was not." "Did you say, "There it is! Pull over!"I "I did not."
"What did you mean by the words: "This could be an ambush'T "Recently, many vehicles have been attacked by armed bandits, shufta, especially on lonely roads at night."
"So what were your feelings?"
"I was anticipating trouble." "What happened then?"
"Two of my bodyguards left the Mercedes, and went to speak to the driver of the truck."
"From where you were seated in the Mercedes, could you see the truck-driver?"
"Yes. He was a complete stranger to me. I had never seen him before."
"What was your reaction to this?"
"I was by this time extremely wary."
"Then what happened?" "Suddenly there were other headlights on the road behind us. A voice on a bull-horn ordering my men to surrender and throw down their arms. My Mercedes was surrounded by armed men and I was forcibly dragged from it."
"Did you recognize any of these men?"
"Yes. When I was pulled from the Mercedes, I recognized General Fungabera."
"Did this allay your suspicions?"
"On the contrary, I was now convinced that I was in danger of my life."
"Why was that, Mr. Minister?"
"General Fungabera commands a brigade which is notorious for its ruthless acts against prominent Matabele-"