By Mary Taruvinga
MDC Alliance Harare West MP Joanna Mamombe and activist Cecilia Chimbiri will only know their fate Wednesday after High Court judge, Justice Tawanda Chitapi fell sick resulting in him failing to deliver his judgment on their bail appeal.
Chitapi was reported to have developed a toothache making him unable to read out his ruling.
The two political activists are detained at the Chikurubi Female Prison facing charges of breaching Covid-19 regulations after holding a press conference at Harare Magistrate’s Court last March.
They were calling for the release of fellow MDC Alliance activist Makomborero Haruzivishe.
Haruzivishe has since been sentenced to 14 months in prison on charges of inciting public violence.
April 2021
Tensions continued to mount among Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt ahead of Addis Ababa’s planned second unilateral filling of Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in coming months. In apparent warning to Addis Ababa and preparation for possible escalation of inter-state tensions, Sudan and Egypt 31 March-5 April held second joint military exercise since Nov 2020. New round of talks among Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan on filling and operation of Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on Blue Nile river broke down 6 April. Cairo same day denounced Ethiopia’s “lack of political will to negotiate in good faith”, while Khartoum vowed to “consider all possible options to protect its security”, denouncing Addis Ababa’s rejection of its proposal for quadripartite mediation by AU, EU, UN and U.S. to break deadlock in AU-led negotiations. Ethiopia’s water minister Seleshi Bekele 7 April said Addis Ababa would proceed with second filling of dam during forthcoming rainy season bet
weekly newspaper.
Zimbabwe journalist and documentary filmmaker Hopewell Chin’ono was vindicated by a court ruling this week, but he has two further cases hanging over his head.
After the court ruling by High Court Justice Jester Charewa on 28 April that quashed criminal proceedings against him, the acclaimed journalist appeared resolute and immediately took the fight back to the State by suing them for “wrongful arrest, detention and malicious prosecution”.
Chin’ono, a critic of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s rule, was being prosecuted on charges of “publishing or communicating false statements prejudicial to the State as defined in section 31(a)(iii) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act”, after claiming that he had tweeted that a child had been beaten to death by a police officer while on her mother’s back at a taxi rank.
eNCA
A main opposition MDC Alliance youth leader in Zimbabwe has been arrested and has appeared in the Harare Magistrate’s Court on criminal nuisance charges.
This as the crackdown against opposition and human rights activists continues in the country.
Last week a coalition of civil society groups said it is engaging liberation movements in the SADC region, including the ANC, to put a stop to the ruling Zanu PF’s crackdown.
Meanwhile, the trial of Harare West MDC Alliance MP Joana Mamombe and two other party youth leaders Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova has begun in the Harare Magistrate’s Court.
Friday 30 April 2021 - 8:55am
Opposition MDC Alliance youth chairperson Obey Sithole is alleged to have led an anti-government demonstration at the New Government Complex in Harare earlier this month. eNCA correspondent Pindai Dube brings us this story from Harare. Courtesy #DStv403
HARARE - A main opposition MDC Alliance youth leader in Zimbabwe has been arrested and has appeared in the Harare Magistrate s Court on criminal nuisance charges.
This as the crackdown against opposition and human rights activists continues in the country.
Last week a coalition of civil society groups said it is engaging liberation movements in the SADC region, including the ANC, to put a stop to the ruling Zanu PF s crackdown.