Harare - The treason trial of Roy Bennett, a top aide to Zimbabwe's prime minister, was deferred on Friday to January next year after a key state witness failed to show up in court to testify.

Peter Hitschmann, who was expected to give evidence in the trial of Bennett, the treasurer of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's party, was absent.

"He (Hitschmann) did not come because he thought he would not take the witness stand," attorney general Johannes Tomana said in his submissions to the court.

"This is a situation that we did not anticipate. The way forward is to adjourn to the next available date," Tomana said.

The state has lined up 13 witnesses in the case and to date, five have testified, he said.

The case will be heard on January 12 next year.

Charges against Bennett arose in 2006 when Hitschmann was found with an arms cache, which the prosecution says he acquired after he was given $5 000 by Bennett to topple President Robert Mugabe.

Bennett's co-accused, Giles Mutseyekwa, now home affairs minister in Zimbabwe's fragile unity government, was acquitted of the charges in the same year.

By SAPA