THE MDC Alliance officials, who are facing charges of publishing falsehoods prejudicial to the State and defeating the course of justice, will have to endure another weekend behind bars after their appeal for a bail hearing was postponed to Monday next week.
BY CHARLES LAITON
Harare West MP Joanah Mamombe (27), Cecilia Chimbiri (31) and Netsai Marova (25) spent last weekend behind bars. Prosecutors Wadzanai Bandalane and Richard Chikosha yesterday told High Court judge Justice Erica Ndewere that their office had received the transcribed court record from the suspects’ lawyers late and were unable to file their response.
However, the trio’s lawyer Alec Muchadehama, assisted by Jeremiah Bamu opposed the postponement, arguing that bail applications were supposed to be treated as urgent.
But the court ruled against them, saying it was important for the State to go through the application before responding to it.
Last Friday, the three women were remanded in custody when they appeared before Harare magistrate Bianca Makwande.
In denying them bail, Makwande said chances were high that if granted bail, the suspects would abscond given the severity of punishment they were likely to face.
The magistrate also ruled that chances were very high that the trio would commit a similar offence and that if proved by video evidence that they were free citizens at a time they claimed they were allegedly abducted by State security agents, they may also be tempted to abscond court.
