VICTORIA Falls magistrate Archibald Dingana last Friday declared unlawful the police’s arrest of two MDC activists for allegedly holding an unsanctioned meeting in Jambezi on March 9.
Report by Senior Court Reporter
The pair, Abedinigo Moyo (62) of Bulawayo and Christopher Sayijeni Sithole (57) of Jambezi ,who are deputy provincial director and councillor respectively, spent four days in cells before they were freed on bail.
Dingana set the pair free after their lawyer, Lison Ncube had applied for their arrest and placing on remand to be declared unlawful arguing that the meeting they held was not covered by Public Order and Security Act (Posa).
“There was no reasonable suspicion when they were arrested. The meeting they held was a meeting of executive party members, which is exempted from Posa because it was a private meeting of a party organ,” Ncube said in his application.
“The law is clear on that. To make matters worse, the meeting was held in one of the executive members’ hut in Nemanhanga Ward in Jambezi. The meeting did not fall under Posa.”
The two, who were out of custody on $100 bail each, had been charged with contravening Section 25 of Posa (failure to notify the regulating authority).
Charges against them as presented by prosecutor Takunda Ndorowi were that on March 9 at 12pm, the two acting in common purpose, convinced people who were gathered for a Copac meeting at Lukunguni ground to go to Lindani Zulu’s homestead in Nemanhanga Ward in Jambezi.
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After that they allegedly convened a political meeting to convince the people to vote for MDC in the forthcoming general elections.
The meeting was attended by about 20 people.
They were later arrested by the police for “illegally” convening the meeting.
