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State abuses Section 121 to deny bail to three political detainees
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)
April 09, 2009

High Court Judge, Justice Charles Hungwe, on Thursday 09 April 2009 granted bail to two Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) members and a photo-journalist, who are accused of organising a series of bombings of police stations and railway lines, but the Order of the Judge was immediately suspended following the invocation of Section 121 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act (CPEA) by Mr Chris Mutangadura representing the State.

Justice Hungwe granted bail to the three political detainees, namely Kisimusi Dhlamini, Gandhi Mudzingwa and Andrison Manyere after their lawyers, led by Alec Muchadehama, applied for bail at the High Court. The three were previously denied bail on Thursday 19 February 2009 by Justice Yunus Omerjee, when he granted bail to four other co-accused namely Chinoto Zulu, Regis Mujeyi, Zacharia Nkomo and Mapfumo Garutsa on the basis that there was apparent evidence of them being found with items of an offensive nature such as ammunition.

Justice Hungwe ordered the three accused persons to deposit US$1 000 with the Clerk of the High Court and to report once every week on Fridays between 6:00 AM and 18:00 PM at Mabelreign Police Station.

In granting bail to the three Justice Hungwe noted that the other four co-accused persons had not violated their bail conditions since they were granted bail in February. Justice Hungwe stated that the High Court can not ignore the fact that the MDC, which the three detainees are alleged to be linked to is now part of the coalition government and its leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai is now part of the executive and hence the three are unlikely to commit the offence they are accused of committing.

The Judge further ordered the three to reside at their given residential addresses in Ashdown Park and Mabelreign until the matter is finalized and not to interfere with State witnesses or investigations.

After Justice Hungwe had granted bail, and in what is becoming a normal trend, Mr Mutangadura immediately invoked section 121 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act - a counter-measure, which government prosecutors often invoke to effectively defeat the bail order and retain the accused persons in custody for a further 7 days to allow the state the opportunity to file an appeal against the positive bail ruling.

By noting an intention to appeal, Justice Hungwe's order to release the three accused persons was immediately suspended, and they will remain in custody.

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) condemns the continued invocation of section 121 of the CPEA by representatives of the Attorney General's office. This provision is the most abused provision in relation to political detainees, and is clearly a further intent to frustrate the course of justice and deny accused persons their fundamental right to liberty. ZLHR has recorded numerous cases in which section 121 has been invoked - particularly against members of the MDC and other human rights defenders in the wake of the March 2008 elections - and most often after the expiry of the seven days, the State would not have filed an appeal. The persecution of our clients continues, and there is an urgent need for intervention in order for such repressive and unconstitutional practices to be brought to an end and for the political detainees to be afforded their basic rights and freedom.

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