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Editor's trial opens
MISA-Zimbabwe
August 04, 2005

Willie Mponda, the editor of the weekly community newspaper, The Sun, pleaded not guilty to charges of publishing falsehoods when his trial opened in Gweru on 3 August 2005.

Mponda who is on $250 000 bail, is being charged under Section 15 (1) (c) of the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) which deals with the publication of false statements prejudicial to the State.

This follows the publication of a story by The Sun on 10 June 2005 alleging that a Gweru woman had committed suicide after her two telephone shops had been destroyed by the police at the height of the controversial clean-up campaign, Operation Restore Order, to rid urban areas of illegal structures, street vendors and suspected criminals.

The State alleges that the police did not destroy her shops and that no Gweru woman committed suicide as a result of the destruction.

The trial was adjourned to 11 August 2005 after the charges had been read to Mponda, who pleaded not guilty.

If convicted, he risks five years in jail or a fine of $100 000 or both imprisonment and fine.

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