BY MIRIAM MANGWAYA ZIMBABWE Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) executive director Roselyn Hanzi has filed an urgent application at the High Court seeking an order to consult privately with her clients detained at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison.
This was after Hanzi was denied access to her clients Job Sikhala and Godfrey Sithole, both Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) legislators who are detained at the prison.
In her application, Hanzi, who is represented by ZLHR lawyers Obey Shava and Paidamoyo Saurombe, argued that prisoners had a right to consult in private with their lawyers as provided for section 50(5)(b) of the Constitution.
She wants the court to declare as unlawful the refusal by Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) Superintendent Moses Gukurume, who is the Officer-in-Charge Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison, to allow her access to her clients.
ZPCS Commissioner-General Moses Chihobvu, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs minister Ziyambi Ziyambi and Gukurume are cited as respondents in the application.
Hanzi wants the High Court to compel authorities at the correctional facility to act in line with provisions of the Constitution, which provide that detained persons have a right to consult.
Sikhala and Sithole were arrested on June 14, 2022 on charges of inciting public violence following the death of CCC member Moreblessing Ali, who was murdered in Nyatsime, Beatrice, last month.
The matter is yet to be heard.
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