THE judge in Mulalo Sivhidzho's trial had to intervene yesterday when she avoided answering questions during cross-examination.

"Don't get excited now, listen to what the counsel is asking and answer the questions," said Judge Naren Bandya.

Sivhidzho had spent more than 10 minutes avoiding giving a straight answer on whether in her evidence-in- chief she had come up with new versions of events regarding her alleged torture by police.

"You provided lots of new information in your evidence-in- chief, versions that we had never heard about before, didn't you?" asked prosecutor Maro Pappachristoforou.

One of Sivhidzho's many responses was: "When I consult with my counsel, I do it verbally. Thereafter she'd prefer that I write it down. As my counsel, she is competent enough to select information that she thinks is relevant. In my evidence, I testified in full."

After putting the same question to her several times without getting a straight answer, the visibly irritated prosecutor looked at the judge and said: "She is not restricting herself to questions. I fear we will be here forever. I wish she would answer the questions."

Sivhidzho eventually gave three different answers. First she said it was possible that she added new information, but later said she would not say it was new information, and in the end said there was no information she had added to her testimony.

Sivhidzho is being cross-examined in the trial-within-a-trial, challenging a statement in which she admitted to killing her husband Avhatakali Netshisaulu in 2006. She is on trial with Ntabudzeni Matsenene and Arnold Sello.

Netshisaulu was hijacked, robbed and locked in the boot of his car before it was set alight. His charred body was found an hour after he had phoned Sivhidzho saying he was being followed by two cars without number plates.