MDC-Alliance members — Joana Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri and
Netsai Marova — were spotted at Belgravia Shopping Centre in Harare at the time
they claim to have been abducted by the police, a Harare magistrate heard
yesterday.
The trio appeared in court on new charges of publishing
false information or obstructing the course of justice. The State said it was
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.
This emerged yesterday at the Harare Magistrates’ Courts, where they were being
charged with publishing or communicating false information prejudicial to the
State, with an alternative charge of obstructing the course of justice.
Mamombe, Chimbiri and Marova, represented by lawyers
Jeremiah Bamu and Alec Muchadehama, were not asked to plead when they appeared
before Ms Bianca Makwande, but were remanded in custody until Monday for ruling
on their bail application.
The State, represented by Charles Muchemwa, Tafara
Chirambira and Teddy Kamuriwo, opposed bail saying they were facing a serious
offence and had gained sympathy in other jurisdictions, which may assist them
to flee. The State said the trio faced a jail term of up to 20 years upon conviction.
“The borders are porous and they are likely to abscond
trial,” said Mr Muchemwa. “They are facing a serious offence and there is
overwhelming evidence against them.”
In their application for bail, the three told the court
that they had other pending matters, charges of breaching lockdown regulations
during an unapproved demonstration, which were more serious.
“The court must balance the interest of justice and the
interests of the accused,” said Mr Muchadehama.
“Nothing has been placed before the court to suggest the
accused should be denied bail. Nothing came from the State in terms of
evidence. The accused are denying the charges and the charges are nonsensical
and they are being charged for nothing. They are now being turned into
villains. The accused would like to make an undertaking that they will
voluntarily avail themselves to police whenever they want them.”
The three told the court that they were seeing a
psychiatrist as part of their recovery from hospital. They argued that they had
since surrendered their passports to the Clerk of Court and there was no way
they could abscond trial.
Ms Makwande remanded the three in custody to Monday for
bail ruling.
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
CID Law and Order.
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 1645hrs in
a Mercedes Benz, which was being driven by Mamombe. Herald
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