ALPHA Media Holdings (AMH) editors Kholwani Nyathi and Faith Zaba have had their application for bail relaxation and temporary release dismissed by Harare magistrate Tapiwa Kuhudzai.
Nyathi and Zaba are facing a charge of insulting President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
The two, represented by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights' Nontokozo Dube-Tachiona, argued that the bail conditions are affecting their daily lives.
Nyathi is the AMH editor-in-chief, while Zaba is the editor of Zimbabwe Independent.
The matter was deferred to September 26 for provision of trial date.
Previously, the lawyers had asked the court to order the State to produce the required certificate or withdraw the charges against Zaba and AMH in terms of the law.
Dube-Tachiona argued that the prosecution had no legal basis without the Attorney-General’s authority, stating that the continued prosecution was illegal.
“Section 34 of the code is clear. The National Prosecuting Authority can only initiate prosecution of persons accused of Chapter III crimes with the authority of the AG,” Dube-Tachiona argued.
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“In this case, no such authority was sought and none was given. My clients have appeared before this court three times prior to this date and I had advised the prosecutors that this case cannot proceed if the prosecution was not authorised to initiate the prosecution without the AG’s authority.
“In the absence of that authority, which clearly the NPA does not have, the accused persons must be unconditionally released.”
Prosecutor Lawrence Gangarahwe, however, asked the court for more time to respond to the defence application, leading to Kuhudzai postponing the matter to September 8 for determination.
Zaba and Nyathi, representing AMH, are being accused of undermining the authority of or insulting the President through the Zimbabwe Independent’s satirical column, Muckraker, in its June 27-July 3, 2025 edition article titled When you become a mafia State.
