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Globecast
satellite acquitted
MISA-Zimbabwe
July 24, 2008
There was a
dramatic end to the Globecast Satellite trial
on 24 July 2008 when Harare Magistrate Archie Wochiunga refused
to place the company on further remand after the state had applied
for a postponement of the matter.
Prosecutor Florence Ziyambi
had applied to have the matter postponed arguing that her witness
had failed to turn up because of transport problems.
However, defence lawyer
Beatrice Mtetwa, opposed the application saying the state had the
obligation to bring its witnesses on time. Mtetwa said the trial
had proceeded painfully slowly as the prosecutor had chosen which
witnesses to call and when. She said the court could not be held
at ransom by a disorganised prosecution and urged the court to dismiss
the application.
Magistrate Wochiunga
dismissed the application for postponement and decided to remove
the accused company from remand. The effect of a removal from remand
of an accused who would have pleaded amounts to an acquittal of
the accused
Globecast Satellite
whose representative during the trial was Thabani Mpofu, pleaded
not guilty to charges of contravening Section 7 (1) as read with
Section 7 (4) and 7 (5) of Broadcasting
Services Act (BSA) which outlaws the provision of broadcasting
services or operating a signal carrier without a licence.
Mtetwa is currently working
on an application for the release of the vehicle belonging to Globecast.
MISA-Zimbabwe
Position
MISA-Zimbabwe
welcomes the acquittal of the company and reiterates its position
that the Broadcasting Services Act is unnecessarily repressive.
It is hoped that the current talks between Zimbabwe's political
leaders will deal decisively with laws such as the BSA, Access
to Information and Protection of Privacy Act as well as the
Public Order and
Security Act with the view of repealing them.
Background
The case against Globecast
stemmed from the broadcast of an interview by CNN of Zimbabwe's
Minister of Information and Publicity Dr Sikhanyiso Ndlovu on 27
March 2008. The uplink for the interview was dispatched by Globecast
Satellite.
The court heard evidence
from six witnesses, among them, Cloud Nyamundanda who is the acting
Chief Executive Officer of Transmedia Corporation and Obert Muganyura,
the Chief Executive Officer of the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe.
Visit
the MISA-Zimbabwe fact
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