The Mirror is told that Lucas Slavik’s release on bail
granted by the High Court in Masvingo on Wednesday was also blocked.
Chikura remarked during his ruling that Slavik said he
recorded the video for which he was arrested only for great memories for
himself as a tourist.
He said Slavik did not make false statements as alleged by
the State and State witnesses who included senior Police officers who
contradicted each other during cross examination. He also concluded that there
was no evidence from Police that Slavik was a public nuisance.
The State changed charges against Slavik three times and
the last time was after he was granted bail by the High Court in Masvingo.
Slavik’s lawyer, Knowledge Mabvuure of Chihambakwe Law
Chambers expressed surprise at the Immigration Department’s move to block
Slavik’s release. The reason the Immigration Department gave for blocking his
release is that they want to investigate further and see if there are no other
crimes that he committed in Zimbabwe.
Czech Republic Deputy Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Michal Novak
who attended the ruling said he was happy that Slavik was acquitted, adding
that his time in prison was difficult.
Under Section 46 of the Criminal Law Codification Reform
Act, the State accused Slavik of disturbing public peace by uttering statements
in a video that he recorded at a place close to Masvingo Central Police
Station.
Criminal nuisance under Section 46 of the Criminal Law
Codification Reform Act says that a person commits this offense if they
unlawfully and intentionally cause annoyance to the public or any section
therefore.
The State accused Slavik of uttering words in the video
that “People were fighting at the Police station and Police is chasing them
away. We have had 12 hours without electricity. At Backpackers Lodge where I
stay there is no water. The accommodation charge is US$25-30 per day and it is
not worth it. Apparently the President is supposed to come today.”
These were the statements which Police described as
falsehoods. He was kept in prison for 20 days before his full trial yesterday.
The Police officers who were State witnesses are Assistant
Inspector Paul Charlie and Detective Sergeant Simbiso Shumba.
Chikura said the utterances made in the video by Slavik
that people were fighting can be interpreted as an expression of opinion rather
than factual information in legal interpretations and his proximity to the
crowd suggests that he was an observer rather than an active participant in the
case and therefore not a nuisance.
“When the accused took the video, he was far away from the
people, causing no annoyance or disturbance and the video was taken for the
purposes of creating great memories for himself,” said Chikura.
Deputy Ambassador Novak said the role of the Embassy was to
observe and provide consular support and assistance to a national from his
country.
“After three weeks of him being detained, we are happy that
the court ruled and acquitted him. Obviously three weeks spent in prison must
have been very difficult for our national and we are glad that the proceedings
resulted in his acquittal,” said Novak.
Initially, Slavik was charged with Section 31(a) 1
publishing false statement with intention to incite the public and the charge
was changed after he was granted bail last week. He was arrested together with
Tom Ssekamwa of Uganda who is charged for violating the Censorship Act Chapter
26 1 (a) after he was found in possession of a rubber penis toy.
Mabvuure in his defence said his client’s conduct on the
day in question does not materially interfere with the ordinary comfort,
convenience, peace or quiet of the public.
He said the mere act of self-recording a video and
providing a narrative to that video does not constitute a crime. Masvingo
Mirror
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