The 29 were scheduled to appear in court Monday, with their defence team expected to apply for a discharge after the state closed its case on March 11th.
Their lawyer Gift Mtisi said both the defence and prosecution teams had agreed to a postponement so that both sides could have the opportunity to analyse the transcript of court proceedings.
Mtisi said: “We met at the judge’s chambers and agreed to postpone the matter to the 2nd as the transcript of the evidence is not ready yet.
“We have been promised that the record may be ready from tomorrow (Tuesday), and we felt it was important for both teams to familiarise themselves with the transcript before we go to court to make our application for discharge.”
The case against the 29 activists stems from the death of Inspector Petros Mutedza who was killed when a police detail he was part of was attacked, while responding to reports of political disturbances in Harare’s Glen View area in May 2011.
The 29 have been on remand since then, with five of the accused still held in custody where they have been reportedly tortured and ill-treated. They all maintain their innocence and accuse the state of holding them on trumped-up charges.
On Friday there were fears that the continued unlawful detention of lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa, who is the lead counsel for the 29 political activists, would further delay their bid for freedom.
Mtetwa was arrested on March 17th (in an unrelated case) for demanding to see a search warrant used by police officers to enter her clients’ premises. She was charged with ‘obstructing the course of justice’ and detained for a week, despite a judge’s order to release her.
Mtetwa was eventually released Monday after her lawyers successfully lodged an appeal at the High Court.
Meanwhile, four employees of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s office whom Mtetwa was defending when she was arrested, remain at Harare Remand Prison after a magistrate denied them bail last Wednesday.
Lawyer Chris Mhike who took over the case, said a bail appeal had been filed at the High Court on Monday and the case is expected to be heard Tuesday morning.
The four are Thabani Mpofu, Felix Matsinde, Annah Muzvidziwa and Warship Dumba. They are being charged with breaching official secrets laws, with the state alleging that they were found with dockets.
Mhike said while he could not speculate on the outcome of the appeal, he was confident that the matter will be dealt with “in terms of the merits as presented in the appeal”.
Two other employees, Spiwe Vera and Elizabeth Banda, who work as caretakers in the same Prime Minister’s office in Avondale, were released without charge Thursday after being questioned for the whole day.
Vera was picked up again on Friday after police indicated they wanted to clarify certain issues in her statement. She was again released without charge.
Vera’s lawyer, Dr Tarisai Mutangi, told SW Radio Africa that he suspected the state was planning to use Vera and Banda as witnesses. – SW Radio Africa
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