Shattered dreams…Shaun Ndapuwa Timba
The 19-year-old Shaun was one of 79 people indiscriminately rounded up on 16 June in Harare’s Avondale suburb by some Zimbabwe Republic Police officers and charged with disorderly conduct or in the alternative, participating in a gathering with intent to promote public violence, breaches of the peace or bigotry.
Many of those arrested were at Senator Timba’s residence to commemorate the Day of the African Child, which coincided with Father’s Day, an event Shaun held dear.
Shaun was later released on bail after five days of detention in June, before a Harare Magistrate threw out the charges against him on 4 September 2024.
Magistrate Collet Ncube ruled that Shaun was not part of the alleged political activists and agreed that he was caught in the crossfire while delivering a present for his father.
“The fact that Timba is applicant (Shaun)’s father and that it was Father’s Day adds credibility to the applicant’s submissions. Clearly, there is no evidence placed before this court to prove an element of an offence by the applicant. It is this court’s considered view that there is no evidence that a reasonable court could convict and the applicant is discharged at the close of the state case,” ruled Magistrate Ncube.
But the damage had already been done. Shaun has now been forced to defer his dreams to study abroad because he could not travel while the criminal case was ongoing in court. These are some of the hazards faced by young people as Zimbabwe intensifies its crackdown against Human Rights Defenders, said
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), which is providing legal representation to Shaun and some of the Harare residents.
“As a result of the persecution and prosecution, Shaun missed the deadline for commencing his studies outside Zimbabwe on 9 September 2024 and has had to defer his educational exploits,” complained ZLHR.
“In Zimbabwe, teenagers such as Ndapuwa Shaun Timba, the son of Senator Jameson Timba, have to go through unjustified persecution for three months for an offence, which they did not commit, only to be acquitted at the close of the prosecution case,” said ZLHR.
Shaun was one of 12 people discharged of all the crimes they were accused of at the close of the state case, saying they were caught in the “cross fire”. Sixty-five others, who include Shaun’s father, were put to their defence on the charge of unlawful gathering with intent to promote public violence and their trial continues at Harare Magistrates Court.
“Taking into account that it was a gathering which attracted people who did not reside at the premises, also considering that there was pandemonium, it creates a prima facie case,” said Magistrate Ncube, ruling against the 65 Harare residents’ application for discharge at the close of the state case.
The trial of another person arrested during the same day is yet to commence as she was severely injured during the arrest and the procedure of separation of trial was invoked when she was hospitalised. Earlier, Magistrate Ncube had acquitted Senator Timba and the rest of the group of disorderly conduct in a public place, ruling that the former opposition legislator’s residence is not a public place and the charge falls off as it cannot stand.”
Senator Timba and the other Harare residents remain in detention fighting to be released on bail as trial on the unlawful gathering charges continues at Harare Magistrates Court.
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