MDC Alliance bigwigs and top lawyers, Fadzayi Mahere, and Job Sikhala have been remanded in custody on charges of publishing falsehoods.
Magistrate Nduna dismissed Sikhala's application for
refusal of placement on remand. He returns to court Wednesday where lawyers are
expected to apply for his release from on bail
Mahere will spend three days in prison custody to Friday
when Magistrate Utahwashe will hand down his ruling on her application
challenging state bid to place her on remand.
Mahere told Magistrate Trynos Utahwashe her detention in
police cells overnight was unnecessary as her arresting officers had completed
their investigations by Monday mid-morning.
“Her detention from that time was unnecessary,” Mahere’s
lawyer David Drury told the court adding the conditions of the police cells
were “unbearable”.
“They are filled with the stench of stale urine and there
no blankets. There were no temperature checks or sanitisers at the police entrance.
There is no social distancing in the waiting area or holding cells. No masks
are available in the cells as cellmates had old masks.
“There is also no provisions of sanitary ware in the cells.
The toilet was a pit latrine surrounded by a puddle of urine. There is no
separation with the beds and toilet hole as well as privacy during
menstruation.”
Mahere’s lawyer added: “A pungent smell exists because of
lack of aeration. The cell blocks are small and seven inmates were crowded in
each room. You have to walk barefooted and women take off their undergarments.”
Magistrate Utahwashe said he got worried after receiving
such complaints and ordered the state to investigate and bring a full report
Friday.
Hopewell Chin’ono returns to court on Wednesday where
Magistrate Ncube will hand down his ruling on application by State to place him
on remand which has been challenged by his lawyers.
#UPDATE A magistrate ordered prisons to remove leg irons from journalist Hopewell Chin'ono, calling them inhumane. Prisons simply removed them from him and kept them on Zengeza West MP Job Sikhala, who appeared before a different magistrate. pic.twitter.com/2Kf3tqw9Kl
— ZimLive (@zimlive) January 12, 2021
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