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This article participates on the following special index pages:
2008 harmonised elections - Index of articles
Trial
of South Africans further postponed to 4 April 2008
MISA-Zimbabwe
April 03, 2008
The trial of
Sipho Moses Maseko and Abdulla Ismail Gaibee, the two South Africans
who were arrested in Harare on 27 March 2008 and charged for violating
the repressive Access
to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) has further
been postponed to 4 April 2008.
Harare Regional Magistrate,
Peter Kumbawa on 3 April 2008 postponed the matter after the state
applied for the another postponement as the prosecutor who is now
handling the matter, Obbie Mabahwana had failed to make it back
into Harare on time from Bindura (80 kilometres from Harare) where
he had gone for another matter.
Kumbawa, however, caused a scene in the courtroom when he questioned
the prosecutor why they were charging engineers for practicing journalism
without accreditation.
"Do you demand accreditation from the van driver, those who
do the make-up and all the support staff who have nothing to do
with journalism proper?," asked Kumbawa.
Kumbawa however agreed to the postponement and ordered the state
to revisit both their charge sheet and state outline so as to clearly
say whether the accussed persons are journalists or engineers.
E. Machuwaire and the MISA-Zimbabwe legal officer, Wilbert Mandinde
appeared for the two accused persons.
Background
The two were arrested at Harare International Conference Centre
while covering a press conference on elections by the Minister of
Information and Publicity Dr Sikanyiso Ndlovu.
They appeared before
Harare Regional Magistrate Lilian Kudya on 31 March 2008 and were
charged for contravening Section 78 (2) of AIPPA as amended. Allegations
against them are that they "held themsevles as accredited journalists"
without being so accredited. Initially the case was postponed to
3 April 2008.
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