Messages From Zimbabwe

A Bindura Magistrate has removed Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) deputy organizing secretary Morgan Komichi from remand, who was facing charges of insulting and undermining the authority of President Robert Mugabe.

Komichi was hauled before the courts last month on charges of undermining the authority of or insulting President Mugabe after he allegedly sang a song with the lyrics: “Chimurume chagire chandifungisa dhongi rangu rakafa kare kare,” which the police construed to mean “Grace’s husband reminds me of my donkey which died long long back referring to His Excellence (sic) President Robert Gabriel Mugabe who is husband of the first Lady Comrade Grace Mugabe”.

Police allege that Komichi sang the “insulting” song when he addressed a rally at Chiwaridzo Shopping Centre in Bindura in January.

But Komichi was removed from remand Monday after prominent human rights lawyer Alec Muchadehama applied for refusal to place the non-constituency Senator on remand on the basis that the facts submitted by the State did not disclose any reasonable grounds that he committed an offence.

Muchadehama told Radio VOP that the Magistrate who presided over the case removed his client from remand after ruling that the facts as alleged by the State did not constitute an offence.

“The Magistrate said Komichi did not say the alleged words. The Magistrate said it was an insinuation by the State. She said the facts were so vague and hence Komichi can not be placed on remand,” said Muchadehama.

In January prosecutor in Mutare postponed the trial of Nyanga North legislator Douglas Mwonzora, who had been arraigned before the courts on allegations that he called the octogenarian leader a “goblin” at a rally he addressed at Ruwangwe Growth Point in Nyanga North constituency on 21 March 2009.

Another MDC senior official, Makoni South Member of Parliament Pishai Muchauraya, was also last week hauled to court on allegations of insulting Mugabe when he addressed a rally in 2006 and called him an old leader who was suffering from diarrhoea.

(Source)

One of the seven men, who allegedly plotted a coup to topple Robert Mugabe and replacing him with Defence Minister Emerson Mnangagwa in 2006, reportedly attempted to escape from the country’s Maximum security prison on Monday where he and five others have been detained since May 2007.

Sources within the prison service said Albert Matapo that the ex-army captain had been found in possession of a hammer, a number of hacksaw blades with one frame, glass cutters and a rope estimated to be fifteen meters long in his Chikurubi Maximum Security prison cell and one burglar bar had already been cut loose at the time of the discovery.

“Investigations have shown that Matapo have been working with the assistance of prison officers within the station.

One of our officers was found in possession of receipts of the items found with Matapo and some text messages in his cell phone which shows that he has been communicating with Matapo’s outside contacts and he admits to having worked with him though Matapo distances himself from the officer.

“It is now difficulty to understand what is going on but other officers are linking the latest development to state security agents. We now suspect Prison Officer Grade 2 Gwekwerere is working with the state agents to frame up fresh charges against Matapo and his company,” said the source.

Most officers who spoke to reporters said they suspected that Emmerson Munangagwa could be behind the deal to eliminate Matapo.

Matapo is jointly charged with Nyasha Zivuku, Oncemore Mudzurahona, Emmanuel Marara, Patson Mupfure, Shingirayi Mutemachani and Rangarirai Mazivofa on treason charges.

He along with his alleged accomplices has been in custody ever since they were arrested in May 2007 and have been denied bail several times.

Matapo and the prison officer whom he is allegedly accused of working with only identified as Gwekwerere are currently held at Harare Central Police Station’s notorious law and order section.

(Source)

The MDC formation under the leadership of Professor Arthur Mutambara is deeply concerned by the new prosecution of Senator Roy Bennett of the MDC (T), commenced with the service of a summons on him on the 30th March 2010, on allegations that he hoarded maize 9 years ago.

Section 18(2) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe states that “If any person is charged with a criminal offence, then, unless the charge is withdrawn, the case shall be afforded a fair hearing within a reasonable time”. The intent behind this provision is to respect the principle that justice delayed is justice denied. In other words it is a fundamental breach of a person’s human rights if prosecutions are not brought expeditiously against a person accused of crime. If there is a delay a person accused of a crime may not, for example, be able to call witnesses in his defence. The public interest also demands that crimes be responded to quickly.

This provision is of course no bar to the police instituting proceedings against a criminal who committed an offence a long time ago and whose involvement in a crime is only recently established. Furthermore it is no bar to a prosecution being brought when a crime is only recently discovered, even though it may have happened a long time ago – such as the discovery of a fraud.

However in the instant case it is hard to conceive how this crime could have only recently been discovered or Senator Bennett’s involvement only recently established. If the press reports are accurate he is charged with hoarding maize at his farm some 9 years ago. It is common cause that Senator Bennett was evicted from his farm at least 7 years ago by state agents who must have discovered the hoard then, if there was in fact a hoard. It would be physically impossible for it to be discovered now as the maize would have rotted years ago. In any event if he was “hoarding” there must have been a large quantity of maize which could not have been hidden easily, only to be discovered recently. Likewise it is difficult to conceive how Senator Bennett’s alleged involvement in hoarding could have only been established recently. He has owned the farm in question for some 20 years and he is a public figure well known to the police in the area. In other words if the “hoard’ was discovered years ago one questions why it is only now that the link has been made to Senator Bennett.

In short it is not open to the police to bring charges now when they should have been brought years ago when the crime was allegedly discovered. The police cannot keep charges locked away in a drawer to be brought out at an “appropriate” moment. If a crime has been committed by a person known to the police then charges should be brought immediately against that person. Accordingly the prosecution of Senator Bennett at this late stage appears to be a clear breach of section 18 of the Constitution. The Attorney General has a duty to explain to the public why it is that this prosecution was not brought earlier. If he cannot do so then the public will assume that there has in fact been a breach of section 18 and a denial of a fundamental right to Senator Bennett.

There is, as well, a political dimension to this issue. The Preamble to the Global Political Agreement signed by the three parties to it in September 2008 dedicates all to “putting an end to the polarisation, divisions, conflict and intolerance that has characterised Zimbabwean politics”. Article 11.1 states that “it is the duty of all political parties and individuals to respect the constitution and to adhere to the principles of the rule of law”. In the last few years numerous MDC activists have been murdered, tortured and disappeared and not a single prosecution has been brought. In many of the cases the perpetrators of these serious crimes are known and have been reported to the authorities. Despite this not a single prosecution has been instituted. In this context this new prosecution is a direct breach of both the letter and spirit of the GPA. The rule of law demands that there should be consistency in prosecutions. One cannot turn a blind eye to serious crimes committed by members of one political party and then proceed with the utmost vigour to prosecute a member of another party for a petty crime which is alleged to have been committed 9 years ago.

In conclusion this new prosecution of Senator Bennett would appear to be unconstitutional and in any event is a serious breach of the GPA. It is tantamount to persecution and we call upon the Attorney General to immediately withdraw the charges in the national interest. We cannot afford as a Nation to allow individuals bent on derailing the GPA get away with their heinous intent.

Senator David Coltart
Secretary for Legal Affairs
MDC (M)

2nd April 2010

(Source: via email)

Today Judge Buhnu was supposed to hand down judgement on Hon Bennetts case at 10 am. The Judge only graced the Court with his presence one and a half hours later at 1130am, to say it would be postponed to May and was about to leave the court, when the defence council Ms Mtetwa requested that bail conditions on Hon Bennett be removed i.e. his passport returned to him and his requirements to report twice weekly to the Police be lifted. The State disagreed. However the Judge ruled that Hon Bennett would no longer have to report to the Police station and if he wanted to travel outside the country he could request in writing for his passport to be released.

(Source: via email)

Seed Co International Limited is suing the embattled Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe over a US$3,6 million debt after the latter allegedly failed to pay for seed it ordered from the firm’s Botswana branch during the 2007 and 2008 farming seasons.

The firm issued summons in November last year and the bank never responded prompting Seed Co to apply for a default judgment at the High Court.

Justice Charles Hungwe is expected to make a ruling on the chamber application soon.

Atherstone and Cook Legal Practitioners are appearing for Seed Co while Chitapi and Associates are representing the central bank.

In the application, Seed Co submitted: “Defendant was served with a copy of summons on November 2 2009. Although they entered an appearance to defend on November 5, defendant has failed to plead. The defendant has lost right to defend the matter.”

According to the summons, during the 2007 and 2008 farming seasons, the RBZ ordered maize seed from Seed Co International’s Botswana depot.

In 2007, seed valued at US$6 376 350 was delivered to RBZ from Botswana and early 2008 another consignment of seed worth US$6 999 654 25 came in.

RBZ, according to the papers, had paid US$10 million by April 2008, leaving a balance of US$3 634 830 80.

It is Seed Co’s claim that the RBZ undertook to pay the balance in weekly installments of US$400 000 with effect from May 2008.

Seed Co said the payment plan was never fulfilled, prompting the firm to seek the High Court’s intervention to recover the money.

Meanwhile, The Registrar General (RG) Tobaiwa Mudede has closed a foreign currency account held with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) after failing to recover US$7 million deposited with the central bank.

A recent parliamentary report said following the closure of the RBZ account, the registrar’s general resorted to keeping revenues collected at its offices in violation of the country’s banking requirements.

At one stage during a visit by members of Parliament (MPs) the money kept at the offices amounted to nearly US$253 000 and 88 000 Rand.

The RG’s Office is said to have since opened accounts with various other banking institutions.

“Regarding the violation of banking requirements, the registrar general’s office used to bank all its money with the RBZ. However, the department could at one point not get the money.

“A total of US$7 million could to date not be recovered,” the parliamentary report said.

The report added that MPs had quarried why the RG’s Office was retaining 100 percent of all revenue collected, when the law authorized it to keep 10 percent only.

“The department is authorized to retain 10 percent of all revenue collected for purposes of financing its operations.

“The department was however retaining 100 percent apparently on the basis of a variation minute issued by treasury dated 5 September 2002 and expired on 31 December 2003.

“It is considered that the variation is invalid as it cannot override a determination which was passed by Parliament,” the report added.

Meanwhile the RG’s department is just but one of several institutions and companies that have failed to recover money deposited with the country’s undercapitalised central bank.

The RBZ recently extended for another six months special bonds issued to gold miners in lieu of deliveries after failing to honour them when the matured at the beginning of the month.

The country’s biggest platinum miner Zimplats is also owed US$34 million.

(Source)

Zimbabwe‘s High Court Wednesday admitted disputed email evidence implicating opposition politician Roy Bennett in a plot against President Robert Mugabe’s government.

Bennett, a white farmer and a senior official in Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), faces a possible death penalty if convicted of illegal possession of arms for “terrorism, banditry and sabotage.”

Defence lawyers had asked the court to reject emails linking Bennett to the alleged crime, arguing that they had been doctored and that a key state witness, Peter Hitschmann, who is alleged to have conspired with Bennett, disowned them.

The court had previously thrown out confessions by Hitschmann linking Bennett to the crime, on the grounds that the statements had been extracted under torture.

High Court judge Chinembiri Bhunu ruled that the emails were created before Hitschmann’s alleged assault.

“The emails cannot be tainted by the alleged abuse suffered by Hitschmann,” Bhunu said.

“They are relevant and vital to the fair resolution of the case and are hereby admitted as evidence.”

The arrest and trial of Bennett, MDC nominee for deputy agriculture minister in a government set up by Mugabe and Tsvangirai, has raised tensions in the power-sharing administration. 

The state charges Bennett with funding a 2006 plot to blow up a major communication link in the country and assassinate key government figures. He is accused of having deposited funds in Hitschmann’s Mozambican account for the operation.

Bennett denies the charges, which he says are politically motivated. Hitschmann, an arms trader and key state witness who faced the same charges but was convicted in 2006 on a lesser charge of possessing dangerous weapons, has absolved Bennett.

(Source)

Defense lawyers for a top prime minister’s aide can raise torture allegations at his trial, a judge ruled Wednesday in a case that has shaken Zimbabwe‘s troubled coalition government.

Judge Chinembiri Bhunu also ruled that a weapons dealer can testify at Roy Bennett’s trial, setting the stage for lawyers to spar over his testimony and how it was obtained once the proceedings begin in earnest Thursday.

The weapons case against Bennett, a top aide to Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, stems from allegations of a plot to topple President Robert Mugabe. Tsvangirai says the charges are baseless and part of efforts by Mugabe loyalists to undermine the coalition formed in February between the longtime rivals.

Bennett’s lawyers say weapons dealer Peter Michael Hitschmann, who is the main prosecution witness, was not only tortured but also did not implicate Bennett during his own trial.

Hitschmann was arrested in 2006 and initially accused of plotting to assassinate Mugabe. Bennett had not been linked to the case until his arrest in February.

Hitschmann was cleared on charges of treason and “possessing weapons for the purpose of terrorism,” the same charges Bennett faces that carry a possible death sentence or life imprisonment if convicted. Hitschmann spent 2 1/2 years in jail on lesser charges of possessing illegal weapons.

Zimbabwe‘s neighbors had pressed for the coalition to be formed after a series of inconclusive elections marred by violence blamed on Mugabe loyalists, saying the country’s factions needed to stop bickering and find solutions to their economic and political crises.

Tsvangirai temporarily withdrew from the coalition because of the case against Bennett among other issues. Last week, South Africa and other neighbors called a summit at which they persuaded Tsvangirai to end his boycott.

Ayanda Ntsaluba, the top civil servant in South Africa‘s foreign ministry, told reporters Tuesday that leaders at the summit made clear that they believed “the political leadership of Zimbabwe must not squander what appears to be the opportunity, perhaps their only opportunity, to pull the country out of the abyss.”

Ntsaluba said that outside countries had to step carefully though.

“We are dealing with people who really have been at war with one another virtually, and that the levels of trust are not exactly where you would want them to be,” Ntsaluba said.

(Source)

Prosecutors want to prevent a top aide to Zimbabwe‘s prime minister from arguing that evidence against him in a weapons trial was obtained through torture.

Roy Bennett’s trial, which has strained Zimbabwe‘s coalition government, opened Monday with the attorney general asking the judge to bar a defense argument.

Bennett’s lawyers say the weapons dealer who is the main prosecution witness was not only tortured, but did not implicate Bennett during his own trial.

The weapons dealer was arrested in 2006 and initially accused of plotting to assassinate longtime President Robert Mugabe. Bennett had not been linked to the case until his arrest in February.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai says “the malicious prosecution” of Bennett must stop.

(Source)

WOZA leaders, Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu, were due to appear in Bulawayo Magistrate’s Court this morning for the ongoing saga of their arrest on 16 October 2008. The matter has been postponed until tomorrow, 15 October, however as the clerk of the court who is holding their file was not available. Their file is considered to be too sensitive to be held with other court documents and is apparently being kept by a senior clerk of the court who has it locked away. Although their case was due to be heard at 8.30 this morning, the clerk was not available to present the file.

The full panel of Supreme Court judges had met to consider the case on 4th June and had given a verbal ruling before they reserved judgement that the two women had been unlawfully arrested and that they should be looking to indict the arresting officers. The state had conceded in their response that the arrest on 16th October 2008 had indeed been unlawful. Judge Chidyausiku undertook to provide the written ruling before 7th July. Despite the fact that several requests have been made to the Supreme Court requesting the ruling, the written ruling has not yet been received.

Magodonga Mahlangu and WOZA are the recipients of the 2009 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award. The Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award was established in 1984 to honour courageous and innovative human rights defenders throughout the world who stand up against injustice.

(Source: by email)