By Staff Reporter
HARARE – MDC Alliance activists Joana Mamombe and Cecilia Chimbiri will remain in jail until next Tuesday after a High Court judge deferred ruling on their bail appeal.
Justice Tawanda Chitapi punted judgment on Wednesday saying he needed time to go through submissions by both parties, adding he would do so over the weekend.
He also reserved his verdict on a similar appeal by Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) leader Takudzwa Ngadziore until the same day.
The activists approached the High Court after they were denied bail by Harare magistrate Vongai Muchuchuti on the predicate they had a propensity to re-offend considering they got arrested while on bail for other criminal infractions.
Mamombe, a lawmaker for Harare West, and Chimbiri were arrested last week on charges of breaching Covid-19 regulations after allegedly staging a demonstration at the Harare magistrates’ court denouncing the arrest of fellow activist Makomborero Haruzivishe.
The two, however, are denying the allegations saying they only addressed journalists, who are considered essential service workers under lockdown protocols.
Their lawyers Alec Muchadehama and Jeremiah Bamu of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights argue the opposition activists are being targeted by the state after other politicians Professor Lovemore Madhuku and Netsai Marova were not arrested despite attending the same news conference.
Mamombe and Chimbiri were arrested again last month and charged with insulting police officers.
They are also charged with faking their abduction, while Ngadziore also has other pending criminal cases including kidnapping and breaching bail conditions.
