She is facing charges of attempting to smuggle gold to
Dubai after four gold bars weighing 6kg were found in her baggage as she was
preparing to leave the country at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport
last month.
Rushwaya is facing two more charges of attempting to bribe
police officers with US$5 000 and unlawful possession of gold.
Through her lawyer, Mr Tapson Dzvetero of Antonio and
Dzvetero Legal Practitioner, Rushwaya early last week approached the High Court
challenging the magistrates’ court decision to deny her bail.
However, given the voluminous nature of the record, it will
take a bit of time for the record transcript to be made available and enable
the appeal to be set down for hearing before two judges, sitting as an Appeals
Court.
Mr Dzvetero told The Herald yesterday that the record of
proceedings was still being transcribed and once complete it would be made
available to the High Court for the matter set down for hearing.
“We are still waiting for the record of proceedings from
the magistrates’ court which is being transcribed,” he said.
“The High Court will only set the matter for hearing once the record is made available to it.The record of proceedings is not yet out.”
In her grounds of appeal, Rushwaya wants the High Court to
set aside the decision of the remand court, arguing that magistrate Mr Ngoni
Nduna misdirected himself in holding that she was not fit for bail. She argued
that the presumption of innocence works in favour of his client since he saw
glaring weaknesses in the State’s case.
It is her contention that the magistrate erred and grossly
erred in concluding that she has connections outside Zimbabwe when no evidence
was placed before him to justify that position. Rushwaya also accuse the
magistrate of making wrong conclusion that she would interfere with witnesses
and investigations when the state failed to provide cogent reasons to
demonstrate how the she would interfere.
In denying, Rushwaya bail, Mr Nduna ruled that she was a
flight risk given her connections with the outside world, access to means to
leave, and the strong State case against her that if proven would almost
certainly result in a prison term.
Rushwaya is being jointly charged with a Pakistan national
Ali Mohammed, who is out of custody on a $100 000 bail.
Her other co-accused are CIO officers Raphios Mufandauya
and Steven Tserayi and one of her subordinates at the Zimbabwe Miners
Federaton, Gift Karanda. All except Mohammed were denied bail in the lower
remand court. Herald
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