A human rights lawyer has accused the Attorney General’s office ofseeking to prolong the incarceration of journalist    Andrison Manyere, MDC activist Ghandi Mudzingwa and Chris Dhlamini who have been in detention since their abduction in  November 2008.

But the Attorney General’s Office and some police officers are also accused of plotting to arrest the lawyer, Mr Alec  Muchadehama, for “facilitating the improper release” of the three political detainees.

Muchadehama in direct confrontation with Attorney General Johannes Tomana

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) have said they are dismayed and deeply saddened by the machinations of the AG’s office and some police officers in plotting to arrest Muchadehama facilitating “the improper release” Manyere from Chikurubi Maximum Prison and Mudzingwa and Dhlamini under hospital detention at the Avenues Clinic.

Dhlamini, Manyere and Mudzingwa, who have been held in detention since November 2008, were granted bail by High Court Judge, Justice Charles Hungwe, on Thursday 9 April 2009.

However, the order was suspended for 7 days following the invocation of Section 121 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act (CPEA) by Mr Chris Mutangadura of the AG’s office.

The State however failed to file their appeal within the prescribed time limits, thus the suspension of the High Court Order granting bail to the three fell away and the Order became active by operation of the law. The three political prisoners were thus released on bail in terms of the Order granted on 09 April 2009 by High Court Justice Hungwe.

On Friday 17 April 2009 at around 20:30pm Dhlamini and Mudzingwa, who have been detained at Avenues Clinic, where they are recuperating from the torture, shock and trauma of the enforced disappearances they were subjected to at the hands of state security agents were formally released from detention at Avenues Clinic and this meant the removal of prison guards.

However, on Monday 20 April 2009 Chief Superintendent Magwenzi, Detective Inspector Muchada and Detective Assistant Inspector Mukwaira led a team of police and prison officers to the hospital beds of Mudzingwa and Dhlamini. Later on armed prison guards were posted at their bed sides.

The two demanded to know the legal basis of the new guard but the prison officials failed to provide any legal grounds for their presence. Mudzingwa and Dhlamini continuously confronted the prison guards asking them to produce the warrants of committal or other lawful basis upon which to maintain guard over them but the prison guards failed to do so. After realizing the illegality of their actions the prison guards suddenly left the hospital at around midday on Wednesday 22 April 2009.

During the time when the prison guards maintained an illegal vigil over Mudzingwa and Dhlamini Detective Sergeant Musademba, Detective Sergeant Kahoba and Detective Sergeant Mirimbo regularly visited them issuing instructions and directives to the prison officials whilst monitoring the two.

After the prison guards had left Detective Sergeant Musademba and Detective Sergeant Kahoba took over maintaining an illegal guard over Dhlamini and Mudzingwa. Constable Mahachi and Constable Maganyani, who disclosed that they had been deployed by “The Controller” at Harare Central Police Station to maintain guard over the two subsequently, changed the above mentioned Detectives in keeping Dhlamini and Mudzingwa under guard.

This prompted Mudzingwa and Dhlamini to instruct their legal practitioners to lodge an official complaint with the Minister of Home Affairs and the police officers over these illegal detentions.

ZLHR understands that the State still intends to oppose the application for bail by defence lawyers, which is scheduled for hearing on tomorrow (Friday 08 May 2009) after Justice Mtshiya deferred the hearing today (Thursday 07 May) on the basis that they are not prepared.

ZLHR is also reliably informed that Justice Bhunu’s clerk and the Assistant Registar, who signed the Warrant of Liberation for Manyere, Mudzingwa and Dhlamini on 17 April 2009, which caused their discharge from prison, was interrogated for several hours by Chief Inspector Henry Dowa, who in 2003 was withdrawn from the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Kosovo because of allegations that he was involved in human rights abuses and torture whilst working in Harare.

ZLHR is also aware that certain law officers in the AG’s Office are being forced to implicate defence lawyers for improperly aiding the discharge of the three political prisoners from Chikurubi Maximum Prison.

“We are once again faced with the continued efforts by individuals within the law enforcement agents to abuse their office and target court officials who are active human rights lawyers and professionals.

“These unwarranted threats on legal practitioners and court officials undermines the citizens confidence in our justice administration, and the continued detention of Mudzingwa, Manyere and Dhlamini further exhibits the abuse of the law as a tool for political persecution,@ said a spokesman for ZLHR.

Today Justice Mtshiya deferred a bail hearing for Mudzingwa, Dhlamini and Manyere to tomorrow, ostensibly to let the Attorney General’s Office to file its responses to the bail applications, with Mr Chris Mutangadura, a law officer at the AG’s Office applying for the bail hearing to be postponed to Monday 11 May.

He claimed that defence lawyers had not served him the bail application on time; that he had only been served the bail application papers yesterday (Wednesday 06 May) and would need more time to “uplift certain judgments from the High Court and to peruse the large documents.

But defence lawyer Mr Muchadehama disputed Mr Mutangadura’s claim telling, Justice Mtshiya that defence lawyers had served the bail application papers on Tuesday to Mr Morgan Dube, a law officer in the AG’s Office, who refused to accept them.

Mr Muchadehama accused Mr Mutangadura of seeking to prolong the incarceration of Manyere, Mudzingwa amd Dhlamini who have been in detention since their abduction in November 2008.

Mr Muchadehama told Justice Mtshiya that the bail application should be promptly determined as a matter of urgency because it concerns the liberty of the accused persons.

Mr Muchadehama said bail rules stipulate that once bail application papers have been filed the Registrar has to set down the matter for hearing after 48 hours.

Justice Mutshiya then postponed the bail hearing to Friday 08 May 2009 to allow Mr Mutangadura to prepare and submit his responses to the bail application.

Last Updated ( Thursday, 07 May 2009 )

Written By: Makusha Mugabe