A recording machine reportedly stopped working on Tuesday. The court postponed the trial until June 18, following an agreement between the prosecution and defence lawyers that the machine coming from Harare would not arrive on time to warrant a trial.
MLF leaders John Gazi, Paul Siwela and Charles Thomas were arrested last year after police claimed they were distributing subversive materials and plotting to topple the government. Police who searched the group’s offices and their homes claimed they found fliers inciting people to turn against the government.
The absence of a working recorder in the court is reported to have affected other serious cases, including four death row cases which are automatically entitled to appeal in the Supreme Court, according to New Zimbabwe news site. The report quoted sources who said the machines had not been serviced for the last ten years. – SW Radio Africa News