High Court Reserves Judgement In Bail Appeal By Timba, CCC Activists
High Court judge Justice Munamato Mutevedzi on Tuesday, 16 March reserved his ruling on a bail appeal by jailed former senator Jameson Timba and 76 Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) supporters arrested on June 16 while commemorating the Day of the African Child.
Justice Mutevedzi said the judgement would be ready by Thursday after hearing arguments by defence lawyers and state prosecutors, reported ZimLive.
The judge ordered the release of one of the accused persons, a 17-year-old minor after lawyers submitted his birth certificate to confirm his age.
In their application, the lawyers for the CCC activists argued that Magistrate Ruth Moyo erred in treating all the suspects as one person when they had different circumstances.
Moyo only admitted Timba’s 18-year-old son, Shaun Timba, to bail after learning that he had visited his father’s Avondale residence, where the activists were arrested.
They are charged with participating in a gathering with the intent to promote violence, breaches of peace or bigotry, as well as disorderly conduct.
The lead lawyer Jeremiah Bamu said the magistrate should not have placed the appellants in one bracket considering that they were arrested separately. He said:
Accused 1 (Timba) is liable for the offence only because people had gathered at his house. That did not make him part of the gathering and the court aquo should have distinguished his circumstances from those of the other accused.
It is clear that the appellants weren’t arrested at the same place but at two different places and the evidence of the investigating officer was that the police did not ascertain the purpose of the gathering. There is no strong case in particular to the charge they are facing.
The court also heard that one of the suspects is a tenant at Timba’s house and was not part of the gathering. Argued Bamu:
The individual role of each appellant ought to have been ascertained. What happened was a dragnet arrest.
Webster Jiti, another member of the defence team, said their clients have not shown any capacity to interfere or abscond.
Jiti said there was also no evidence that the activists were violent during their arrest. Said Jiti:
Evidence before the court is rather contrary. The appellants were brutalised to the extent that some were hospitalised.
Prosecutor Charles Muchemwa said there was no misdirection by the Magistrates Court as argued by defence lawyers. He said:
The evidence before the court shows that this offence was committed in aggravating circumstances and there is a likelihood of a conviction.
This might induce the appellants to abscond. It is therefore my humble submission that the appeal be dismissed.
The judge then adjourned the hearing and said the judgement would be handed down virtually.
More: Pindula News
