MDC-Alliance legislator Joana Mamombe and two other party
activists accused of lying to the police about being abducted, will know their
fate today when the High Court is expected to determine their bail application.
Mamombe and the party’s youth assembly activists Cecilia
Chimbiri and Netsai Marova were last week remanded in custody.
Their bail hearing, which had been scheduled for yesterday
before High Court Judge Justice David Foroma was postponed at the behest of the
prosecution.
The State, led by Mr Richard Chikosha, sought the
postponement arguing that they were still to file their response to the trio’s
application.
The defence team led by Mr Alec Muchadehama of Mbidzo,
Muchadehama and Makoni did not oppose the postponement.
Mamombe, Chimbiri and Marova — were allegedly spotted at
Belgravia Shopping Centre in Harare at the time they claim to have been
abducted.
This emerged in court last week when they appeared before
magistrate Ms Bianca Makwande on new charges of publishing false information or
obstructing the course of justice.
The State says it is in possession of video footage of the
three at Belgravia Shopping Centre at around 4.45pm on May 13, the day they
said they were abducted earlier in the afternoon.
Allegations against the trio are that on May 13, at around
12.30pm, they gathered at Choppies Supermarket in Warren Park 1 with other
MDC-Alliance youths and staged a demonstration against the recalling of their
MPs from Parliament and the alleged misuse of funds for the Covid-19 pandemic
by Government.
On the same day, they allegedly called their friends,
family and lawyers, saying they had been arrested at a roadblock near
Exhibition Park and were taken to Harare Central Police Station.
Upon receiving the communication, their lawyer Mr Jeremiah
Bamu reportedly went to the police Criminal Investigation Department Law and
Order section.
Mr Bamu is alleged to have approached a senior officer,
saying the accused had been arrested and taken to Harare Central Police Station.
According to the State, checks were made and it was established that they were
not arrested.
On the same day, social media platforms and local
newspapers were awash with news that the three had been arrested, it is
alleged.
Two days later, on May 15 at around 1am, Mr Bamu advised
the police that the three were at Muchapondwa business centre in Bindura.
The police and Mr Bamu went to the business centre,
collected them and took them to a hospital in Waterfalls, Harare, since they
claimed to have been tortured.
On May 19, Marova told a police detective that she was
abducted and tortured by the police, with Mamombe and Chimbiri later
interviewed on May 25, according to the State.
It is said investigations by the police revealed that they
were never abducted, but allegedly stage-managed the kidnapping.
Further accusations are that during the time of the alleged
kidnapping, they were at Belgravia Shopping Centre in Harare.
The State alleges that they were seen at around 4.45pm in a
Mercedes Benz, which was being driven by Mamombe. Herald
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