HARARE-Although she has been released from prison cells on bail after enduring months of alleged torture, human rights activist and the Zimbabwe Peace Project directior Jestina Mukoko remains a prisoner in Zimbabwe. (Pictured: Zimbabwe Peace Project directior Jestina Mukoko)The State has refused to give her temporary custody of her passport to travel to various countries including the United States, South Africa, Sweeden and German on the pretext that she may vanish into thin air never to return to Zimbabwe for the completion of her trial.
Mukoko stands accused of training bandits to overthrow the previous government led by octogenerian President Robert Mugabe in favour of a new dispensation with MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai at its helm.
She was abducted allegedly by State security agents in a pre-dawn raid at her home in Norton in December last year virtually naked.
Beatrice Mtetwa, Mukoko’s legal representative, has since written to the State represented by Chris Mtangadura exprtessing her reservations regarding his attitude torwards his handling of the case at a time the nation was embarking on a national healing process.
But Mtangadura has remained intrasigent arguing that ity would take more than Mtetwa for him to agree to relaxing Mukoko’s bail conditions.
However, Mtetwa has confirmed that she has since applied to the Supreme Court to have her client’s bail conditions relaxed so she can go about her daily business.
In her defence, Mukoko argues that she has since complied with all bail conditions set out by the prosecuting authorities and that she would not abscond.
Mukoko’s case highlighted the crucial role of the security forces in last year;s harmonised elections which failed to produce a conclusive winner as both frontrunners Mugabe and Tsvangirai, according to the Zimbabwe Election Commission, failed to ganner enough votes to be declared outright winners.
This led to a run-off boycotted Tsvangirai explicitly on the grounds that his supporters were being victimised and murdered.
Mugabe says he won the won man race, but failed to form a government until the intervention of SADC to force him to consummate a coalition State with the two MDC factions which first phase took place on September 15 2008 when the three protagonists signed the Global Political Agreement followed by the swearing in of Tsvangirai as Primer Minister on February 11 and later his deputies and finally
ministers.
Post published in: Politics