But the lawyer said he committed no crime and simply interpreted the
law to the best of his ability. According to him the Attorney General's
office appealed against the granting of bail after the seven day
period, allowed by law, had elapsed. Muchadehama believes the seven set
days included weekends and public holidays.
At the time one of his clients, journalist Shadreck Manyere, was being
held in Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison and MDC officials Gandhi
Mudzingwa and Chris Dhlamini were under hospital detention at the
Avenues Clinic. The three were re-arrested last month, a few days after
their release on bail. They were however granted bail again on
Wednesday.
Muchadehama's co-accused is Constance Gambara, a clerk to High Court
judge Justice Chinembiri Bhunu. She was arrested last week and is still
being held in remand prison with her nine month old baby. She was
charged with criminal abuse of duty as a public officer'. The
accusation is that she assisted Muchadehama in facilitating the
improper release of the three activists, after bail was granted for
the first time.
Gambara had been granted bail last Friday, but the Attorney General's
office invoked section 121 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act,
to appeal against this. She remains in detention waiting for the State
to appeal within the time limit of seven days. Lawyers said the clerk
has her child in prison with her, because she doesn't have anyone to
leave her baby with.
Muchadehama is a prominent human rights lawyer who has been
representing several political and human rights activists who have all
been charged with plotting to overthrow the Mugabe regime.
He was arrested at the Rotten Row Magistrates Courts at 10am on
Thursday, where he was to attend to four other court cases. His lawyer
Beatrice Mtetwa immediately filed an urgent High Court application
against the charge.
Meanwhile the MDC has demanded the immediate release of the lawyer
saying: The arrest has nothing to do with the rule of law, but
represents the doomed persistence of those fighting the advent of
change which is now upon us. It represents yet another attempt to
intimidate the legal fraternity from defending human rights, which
continue to be under threat despite promises of hope since the
formation of the inclusive government in February.
The latest arrest of a human rights defender comes amid comments by co-
Home Affairs Minister Giles Mutsekwa that he was "deeply disgusted
about the arrest" of two journalists from the Zimbabwe Independent this
week. The MDC Minister said the arrest constituted a serious and
contemptuous breach of Article 19 of the power-sharing agreement, which
commits the political parties to freedom of the press.
Mutsekwa is reported to have also revealed in parliament that the
controversial Attorney General, Johannes Tomana, ordered the arrest of
the journalists without the knowledge of the Ministry of Home Affairs
or Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri. Questions are now
being asked why the police would follow instructions from the AG and
not the ministry responsible for the police.
SWRadio Africa
Post published in: Politics