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Mwonzora,
villagers languish in prison after judge postpones AG's appeal against
bail order
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)
March 07, 2011
Nyanga North Member of Parliament and Constitution Select Committee
(COPAC) co-chairperson Hon. Douglas Mwonzora and 23 villagers will
endure more time detained at Mutare Remand Prison after High Court
Judge Justice Susan Mavangira on Monday 7 March 2011 postponed the
hearing of an appeal filed by the State challenging a bail order
granted to the legislator and the villagers to Wednesday 9 March
2011.
Justice Mavangira
deferred the hearing to Wednesday 9 March 2011 after she noted that
the record of proceedings was incomplete as some pages were missing.
Justice Mavangira
said some pages in the record of proceedings were photocopied badly
while Magistrate Ignatio Mhene's handwriting was difficult
to read.
Defence lawyers
took the extraordinary task of collecting the record of proceedings
from Nyanga Magistrates Court to try and transcribe it for use during
the hearing of the appeal on Wednesday.
In the meantime
Hon. Mwonzora and the villagers will remain incarcerated at Mutare
Remand Prison until Wednesday when the High Court will consider
an appeal against their bail order which was filed on Friday 25
February 2011 by the Attorney General's Office.
Hon. Mwonzora
and the 23 villagers who were arrested three weeks ago and charged
with violating section 36(1)(a) of the Criminal
Law (Codification and Reform) Act for public violence were granted
bail by Magistrate Mhene on Monday 21 February 2011.
But Magistrate
Mhene's bail order was vetoed after State prosecutor, Tirivanhu
Mutyasiri invoked the notorious Section 121 of the Criminal
Procedure and Evidence Act (CPEA) to suspend the bail order
which had been granted to Hon. Mwonzora and the villagers.
Edmore Nyazamba,
a law officer in the AG's Office filed the appeal.
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fact
sheet
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