The two Harare residents Ngonidzashe Mupfumba and Kudakwashe Butao,
who were out of prison custody on bail, had been on trial after they
were arrested on 6 April 2021 and charged with disorderly conduct as
defined in section 41(a) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform)
Act.
During trial, prosecutors alleged that Mupfumba and Butao, who were
represented by Gift Mtisi of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights,
engaged in disorderly conduct by chanting a slogan “Ahoi Macomrades,
Ahoi” outside Harare Magistrates Court after attending a court session
for
Haruzivishe and where some police officers were attempting to disperse people.
But Magistrate Mateko on Thursday 7 October 2021 discharged Mupfumba
and Butao at the close of the prosecution case and ruled that State
witnesses contradicted each other glaringly in their testimonies
during trial and failed to corroborate each other’s evidence.