Lazarus Maengahama
Phineas Nhatariko
Tungamirai Madzokera
Stanford Mangwiro
Stanford Maengahama
Yvonne Musarurwa – Chikurubi
Rebecca Mafukeni – Chikurubi
HARARE – Prison officials are continuing to defy a court order to provide medical attention to seven MDC activists who have been languishing in prison since May.
Deputy Justice and Legal Affairs minister, Obert Gutu, visited them last week and said he was appalled at the state they were in.
They told Gutu that they believed failure to brief their legal team prior to their court appearance had resulted in them failing to secure bail in the magistrate’s court and more recently in the High Court.
"We are rotting here," they said. Harare Magistrate, Shane Kubonera, last week ordered prison officers to let private doctors examine the five male MDC activists at the remand prison and the two women detained at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison.
For more than two months prison officials have been denying those incarcerated access to doctors despite a court ruling ordering that they be treated. The seven activists are among 24 MDC members who were arrested and severely tortured while in police custody on charges of murdering a police officer in Glen View in May. The other 17 were granted bail last month.
Among those in urgent need of medical attention are Tungamirai Madzokera,Yvonne Musarurwa and Rebecca Mafukeni. Madzokera’s left hand is in plaster after it was fractured in police custody while Musarurwa and Mafukeni have visible wounds from police torture.
Their defence lawyers have accused the Attorney General’s Office and the police of using “guerrilla tactics” in arresting and prosecuting the activists, who were at one time denied access to legal representation.
The prisoners begged Gutu to consider that they were facing serious charges even though "trumped-up" and needed access to their defence team. They are being represented by top rights lawyers, the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights.
“There has been lack of communication with the lawyers," Madzokera told the minister.
“Maengahama came back from Botswana where he used to work since his work permit expired but the lawyer did not know that because we never spoke to him. So he told the court he was still working in Botswana – and that caused him to be denied bail because they said he was a flight risk. We need an advocate to work with our strong defence team at Supreme Court for us to win bail. We lost at the High Court due to communication breakdown,” he said.
Gut said he noted their concerts and the MDC would ensure that the defence team would “properly handle the case”. He also promised that the party would assist the families who have been left without breadwinners.
Post published in: News