Magistrate Olivia Mariga denied Frank Chikowore bail because he wanted to use him as an example to deter other would-be-offenders in the tense post-election period, even before he had stood trial.
Chikowore’s lawyer Harrison Nkomo has lodged an urgent bail application in the High Court seeking his release, arguing there had been a miscarriage of justice in remanding him in custody until May 5.
Chikowore, who appeared in court almost a week after his arrest together with six other accused persons, among them the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party’s director of information and publicity, Luke Tamborinyoka, a former news editor with a banned independent daily newspaper, the Daily News.
Magistrate Olivia Mariga denied bail to Chikowore and about two dozen others on Tuesday, claiming the defendants might incite further violence.
Chikowore’s public violence charge relates to the torching of a bus during the April 15 strike in the Harare suburb of Warren Park. Nkomo said his client was covering the strike and had no involvement in the matter. Local journalists said Chikowore arrived at the site of the strike at least five hours after the bus had been set on fire.
Meanwhile, a Mutare prosecutor Malvern Musarurwa this week declined to pursue charges against journalist Sydney Saize, who was accused of trumped-up charges of false reporting and violating journalist accreditation laws.
In a separate development, freelance journalist Stanley Karombo, arrested on April 18 while covering an Independence Day celebration at Gwanzura Stadium, was free after paying a fine of Z$14 million.
Karombo, charged with conduct likely to cause public disorder spent three nights in police custody at Harare Central Police Station following his arrest at the stadium while taking notes during Mugabe’s speech.
Press freedom groups have condemned the State crackdown on the press.
Journalists, both foreign and domestic, have been under unbearable pressure as authorities persecute the press for doing its job, said New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists executive director Joel Simon.
Post published in: News