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NewsDay

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Criminal defamation challenge deferred

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The Constitutional Court (ConCourt) yesterday postponed indefinitely an application filed by the Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) Zimbabwe and local journalists seeking an order declaring criminal defamation unconstitutional in terms of the new Constitution.

The Constitutional Court (ConCourt) yesterday postponed indefinitely an application filed by the Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) Zimbabwe and local journalists seeking an order declaring criminal defamation unconstitutional in terms of the new Constitution.

BY CHARLES LAITON

The full bench headed by Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku ordered lawyers representing Misa and the State to file heads of argument on Misa’s locus standi in presenting the matter before the court and whether section 96 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, was still valid in light of the previously decided case of former NewsDay Editor Nevanji Madanhire and the Alpha Media Holdings Multimedia Editor Nqaba Matshazi.

In the case of Madanhire and Matshazi, the court declared section 96 of the code as being unconstitutional in terms of the old Constitution, but a determination was not made of the same section in terms of the new Constitution.

The current application was filed by a Harare lawyer Chris Mhike, arguing section 96 was unconstitutional as it did not comply with Sections 61 and 62 of the new Constitution and as such it should be struck off.

Sections 61 and 62 protect the right to freedom of expression, media freedom and access to information.

In the application Misa-Zimbabwe was cited as the first applicant while journalists Matshazi, Sydney Saize and Godwin Mangudya, were cited as second, third and fourth applicants’ respectively. Roger Deane Stringer, an independent publishing consultant was also cited as the fifth respondent.

Both Matshazi and Stringer have been victims of the draconian law. Representing Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is also the Vice-President of Zimbabwe, former Information, Media and Broadcasting Services minister Jonathan Moyo and Attorney-General Prince Machaya, were cited as respondents.

Meanwhile, a similar application filed by Zimbabwe Football Association chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze was also postponed indefinitely after State representative Edmore Makoto advised the court that the State had declined to prosecute the football boss.

Makoto told the court the State would soon summon Mashingaidze to appear before a magistrate and plead to the charge of criminal defamation after which the matter would be withdrawn since the section under which he was charged had been outlawed in terms of the old Constitution.

Mashingaidze was represented by advocates Lewis Uriri and Webster Chinamora.