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Zimbabwean lawyer still detained
Patricia Mpofu, ZimOnline
May 16, 2007

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http://www.zimonline.co.za/Article.aspx?ArticleId=1380

HARARE - Zimbabwean police were last night still detaining lawyer Jonathan Samkange who was arrested on Monday night for allegedly falsifying information on a visa for a witness in a court case.

Samkange is representing British mercenary Simon Mann who is fighting extradition to Equatorial Guinea where he is wanted for allegedly spearheading a coup plot against President Nguema Mbasogo.

Police spokesperson Andrew Phiri said Samkange was likely to appear in court on Wednesday to face charges of violating the Immigration Act.

"He's being investigated under the Immigration Act, in relation to his attempt to try to bring somebody into the country using false information," said Phiri.

Acting Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) director Tafadzwa Mugabe and the Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) President Beatrice Mtetwa on Tuesday, visited Samkange at Rhodesville Police Station in Harare.

"Our discussion with him revealed that he was picked up from his Avondale residence close to midnight on 14th May 2007 by about six police officers led by one Supt Nyamupaguma who had orders to arrest and detain him on allegations of contravening the Immigration Act particularly section 26 (1) (b) thereof.

"It is being alleged that he falsely declared that he was going to host a certain visitor of his from abroad yet in fact the said person is alleged to have been intended to be a witness in the Mann extradition hearing that was going on a few weeks back.

"As matters stand no warned and cautioned statement has been recorded and therefore the charges have not been formally laid. It is also noteworthy that the offence is a fineable one," said Mugabe in a statement to the media.

Samkange last week filed an urgent application at the High Court challenging the extradition of Mann to Equatorial Guinea arguing that his client faced torture if he was extradited to the West African country.

Samkange had lined up the witness that has led to his arrest to testify and shed light on Equatorial Guinea's prisons. The witness spent six months being tortured in Equatorial Guinea jails.

Meanwhile, 11 lawyers were arrested in the eastern city of Mutare on Tuesday after they attempted to demonstrate in the city against the continued crackdown on the legal profession over the past two weeks.

The arrested legal practitioners include Tinoziva Bere of Bere Brothers, Trust Maanda of Henning Lock Doagher and Winter, Johannes Zviuya a Ms Nyamwanza and seven unnamed others.

"They were quickly bundled into a police truck and are presently detained at Mutare Central Police Station," said Mugabe. - ZimOnline

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