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Karoi teachers granted bail
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)
August 03, 2010

Three Karoi teachers who were arrested last week were on Tuesday 3 August, 2010 freed on bail after their lawyers applied for their release at the Karoi Magistrates Court.

The teachers namely Rorden Matsaure aged 32, Innocent Nyoni (34), Clifford Muchingami (30) and Patrick Murira (39), a security guard were freed after a Magistrate granted them bail. The teachers and the security guard paid $20 each in bail money and were ordered to report to the police once every month on Fridays and to reside at their given residential addresses.

Matsaure, Nyoni, Muchingami and Murira, who are stationed at Hesketh Primary School, were arrested on Thursday 29 July, 2010 and charged with contravening section 89 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23 for allegedly assaulting a Karoi resident Freeman Svova.

The State alleges that the three teachers unlawfully and intentionally caused bodily harm to Svova when they assaulted him once on the forehead, using a brick, once at the back using a gumtree branch and all over the body using booted foot, clenched palms (sic), and open hands thereby causing inflicting injuries.

The State claims that the teachers, who are represented by Tawanda Zhuwarara and Belinda Chinowawa of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) assaulted Svova after he alleged during a discussion whilst drinking beer in a bar that they were spoiling school children by teaching them some Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) slogans at school and they had ended up singing some of the party's songs and slogans at home.

As a result of the alleged assault the State claims that Svova sustained some injuries on the head, wounds on his face, back ache, chest pains and a swollen eye.

However, the teachers have denied the assault charges and claim that they were being victimized for challenging some soldiers at a meeting convened on 27 July, 2010 near the school, where the soldiers were allegedly coaching people on making contributions during a meeting held ahead of a constitutional outreach meeting to solicit people's contributions to a draft constitution.

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