Wednesday 12 August 2020

BITI'S AIDES DEMAND $1M EACH FROM KAZEMBE KAZEMBE


MDC Alliance vice president Tendai Biti’s lawyer Nqobizitha Mahole Mlilo and aides Clever Rambanepasi and Tawanda Blessing are each claiming $1 million from Home Affairs minister Kazembe Kazembe and police commissioner-general Godwin Matanga for wrongful arrest, detention and malicious prosecution.

The three were arrested together with Biti for an alleged border jumping incident in 2018, but were all acquitted by a Karoi magistrate.

The trio believe their arrest, detention and prosecution was wrongful as they never departed the country as alleged by the arresting details, a matter they were prosecuted for and have approached the High Court for redress.

They want redress for expenses they incurred in defending themselves against the charges, including travelling expenses to Karoi several times for court hearings, deprivation of freedom and discomfort.

“On August 9, 2018 at Chirundu, plaintiffs were arrested without a warrant by members of the Zimbabwe police service under the supervision of assistant commissioner Nyabasa.

“Plaintiffs were immediately ferried to Harare under armed police guard and taken to CID Law and Order section. “Plaintiffs were detained in custody overnight at Harare Central police station,” they said in the court application. 

The trio believe they were arrested on disinformation by the police as they never left Chirundu border post. “Plaintiffs did not depart Zimbabwe as alleged or at all. At all the material times, plaintiffs were lawfully within the precincts of Chirundu One Stop Border Post. 

“When laying this charge and giving this disinformation, defendants had no reasonable or probable cause for doing so, neither did they have reasonable belief in the truth of the information given or charge laid against plaintiffs,” they said.

“Plaintiffs pray for judgment against the defendants . . . payment to each of them the sum of $500 000.00 being general damages for wrongful arrest and detention.

“Payment to each of them of the sum of $500 000.00 being general damages for malicious prosecution.”
Kazembe, Matanga and a third defendant who was not mentioned by name are yet to respond to the application. Daily News

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