The High Court has set down a fresh bail hearing date for the remaining eight MDC-T activists who were arrested in Glen View in May over the alleged murder of a policeman, Inspector Petros Mutedza.
The matter will be heard tomorrow. The eight are part of a group of 24 MDC-T activists arrested and charged with the cop’s murder at Glen View 3 Shopping Centre in May.
Early this month, Justice Tendai Uchena granted bail to 12 others while ruling the other eight as unsuitable candidates for bail.
The eight are Tungamirai Madzokere, Lazarus Maengahama, Stanford Maengahama, Phineas Nhatarikwa, Stanford Mangwiro, Yvonne Musarurwa, Rebecca Mafikeni and Cynthia Manjoro.
The activists’ lawyers said the applicants were now petitioning the court to be admitted to bail under changed circumstances.
“The first change in circumstances, which relates to all applicants, is the passage of time from the time of arrest to the initial denial of bail and the present application.
The passage of time is coupled with the fact that the State has failed to strengthen the case against all the applicants. In fact the passage of time has actually brought to the light further weakness in the State (case),” reads the application.
The lawyers also argued that delays in completion of investigations into the matter had contravened their clients’ constitutional rights.
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“As appears from the Form 242 annexed to Annexure A, investigations in this matter ought to have been completed by 30 June 2011.
As a matter of consequence this meant after the completion of investigations a trial date would have been set and the applicants accorded their day in Court.
“As it turns out there is no indication as to whether or not the investigations have now been completed.”
The police officer was killed by unknown revellers at a night-club and the MDC-T has dismissed claims that its supporters were involved in the murder.
