A HARARE magistrate yesterday released #ThisFlag frontman,
Evan Mawarire following his arrest on Sunday over a video posted on Facebook in
which he was castigating government’s policies and bond notes.
Magistrate, Elisha Singano ruled that police had
over-detained him before bringing him to court.
“The State cannot blame the prison services of High Court
for over detaining Mawarire because they are all arms of the State. I,
therefore, order his release from custody,” he ruled last night.
The State had applied for Mawarire to be placed on remand.
But his defence lawyer, Harrison Nkomo, objected to the application, saying the
State should first deal with the accused’s constitutional right to be brought
to court within the 48-hour period.
The investigating officer, Detective Assistant Inspector
Martin Masenda told the court that Mawarire’s rights were not violated, as they
first allowed him to attend his trial at the High Court, which is a superior
court.
However, Nkomo said the High Court trial was interrupted
because the superior court understands the 48-hour period and the police should
not blame the High Court for the violation of Mawarire’s constitutional rights.
Nkomo said the police should have applied for a warrant of
further detention if they wanted him to appear first on trial at the High Court.
It is the State’s case that on September 23 this year,
Mawarire visited several service stations within Harare, where there were
queues.
The State alleges Mawarire recorded a video of himself
showing some vehicles queuing for fuel. In his video, Mawarire allegedly
incited the general populace to revolt against a constitutionally-elected
government of Zimbabwe.
It is alleged on the same date, the video went viral on the
social media platforms, which is assessable by the entire world.
Tapiwa Kasema prosecuted for the State. Newsday
0 comments:
Post a Comment