HARARE Police hunting for human rights activist Farai Maguwu camped at his house for nearly a week sleeping in his bed and feeding on his food, he told a Harare magistrate on Wednesday. Maguwu, whose Centre for Research and Development (CRD) has exposed smuggling and other illegal activities at the controversial Marange diamond mines, was arrested more than three weeks ago and charged with communicating false statements prejudicial to the state after he allegedly wrote reports detailing rights abuses by security forces at the diamond field.
He faces up to 20 years in jail if found guilty
But Maguwu told the court during an application for bail yesterday that the police not only invaded his home but that they also took away some of his property in addition to arresting his brother who he says the police tortured in a bid to extract information about his (Maguwu) whereabouts.
“For six days (the police) team was staying at my house . they had six days sleeping in my bed, eating my food, Maguwu told the court.
“They took the car, some bags and for the rest (of the stuff taken away) I think the family knows better than me. It defies logic why they took my car, he said.
Maguwu, who has been denied bail by a magistrate and High Court judge before because he faces a serious crime and therefore is considered a high flight risk, said he was subjected to cold conditions while in police cells and fell ill as a result.
He said: Because of the cold conditions, I have been subjected too, I developed swollen tonsils and the doctor had to operate me some ten days ago.”
The bail application continues today with the police expected to explain why they have taken so long to finalise the investigations.
The state says it wants Maguwu in custody while the police complete investigations into his alleged offence.
Maguwu was arrested days after meeting Kimberley Process (KP) monitor to Zimbabwe, Abbey Chikane, who was in the country to assess whether operations at Marange met the diamond regulators standards.
The CRD handed Chikane a top state secret document allegedly detailing cases of rights abuses by soldiers and police stationed at Marange. The KP monitor handed the document to the Zimbabwean government triggering a chain of events that eventually led to Maguwus arrest.
The KP last week failed to reach consensus on Chikanes recommendations that Zimbabwe should be allowed to export Marange diamonds because it had met all conditions set by the regulator.
Post published in: Politics