SUNDAY Mail editor Edmund Kudzayi’s brother Phillip, who was arrested last week over his alleged links to the shadowy, but controversial, Facebook blogger Baba Jukwa, was yesterday released from remand prison on $5 000 bail. SENIOR COURT REPORTER
This was after the National Prosecution Authority (NPA) consented to his provisional liberty pending trial, a day after Edmunds’ release.
Phillip (30), unlike his brother Edmund, is only facing a charge of attempting to subvert a constitutional government by waging “cyber-terrorism” against President Robert Mugabe’s government using the Baba Jukwa blog which is believed to be Edmund’s brainchild. The charges involve banditry, insurgency and terrorism.
High Court judge Justice Joseph Musakwa however, granted Phillip bail coupled with stringent conditions among them reporting twice a day at CID Law and Order in Harare, surrender of his Gmail account password, passport, title deeds of his mother-in-law, Virginia Rumbidzai Matanda’s, Bluffhill house, not to interfere with State witnesses and to reside within the 40km radius from Harare Main Post Office until the matter was finalised.
Responding to Kudzayi’s bail application by his lawyer Admire Rubaya, chief law officer Tawanda Zvekare, in his written response said although applicant (Phillip) was a flight risk and facing very serious charges which, if convicted, would call for a lengthy period of imprisonment, the State conceded that the bail conditions proposed by the defence would allay the fears of the State.
After being denied bail at the magistrates’ court a week ago, Phillip also challenged the State to engage Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg and his firm to ascertain the Internet protocol address of the person who set up the Baba Jukwa account as well as its administrators, contrary to the police claims.
