Hypocrisy:Police use Sky News Vehicle
The Zimbabwe government’s selective application of the law was exposed yesterday as it emerged that Police have been using a foreign registered vehicle seized from a Sky News crew to transport abducted civil society activists to and from court. It is illegal in Zimbabwe for anyone to drive a foreign registered vehicle in the absence of its registered owner.
The vehicle, a red VW minibus, together with television broadcasting equipment, laptops, computers, disks, and videotape was confiscated in May last year in Bulawayo, and three Sky employees were detained. Bernet Hasani Sono, Resemate Chauke and Simon Musimani were subsequently each sentenced to six months in jail. In July 2008 a High Court judge reduced the sentences to fines of Z$50 billion and they were deported.
The red VW minibus, with Gauteng registration plates HNL 223 GP, had been used so openly by the state to transfer the activists, some of whom allege that they have been tortured and beaten while in custody. Gauteng vehicle records show the vehicle to be the property of Kebone Tours and Transport, a tourism company based in Vorna Valley between Johannesburg and Pretoria, from whom Sky rented the vehicle. As Phetole Ramatseba of Kebone Tours said: “We haven’t really owned that vehicle since it was taken by the Zimbabwean state.”
Last year Police impounded MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai’s South Africa regestered vehicle on the pretext that it was illegal under the Customs and Excise Act for the opposition leader to use the vehicle in the absence of its owner who at the time had already returned to South Africa.
The armoured BMW X5 vehicle, confiscated by police in the run up to the disputed presidential elections now held in Bulawayo’s Drill Hall station.
The BMW X5 was impounded by police on 6 June when Mr Tsvangirai was detained for several hours at Esigodini police station in Lupane.
Instead police have charged a South African businessman with violating customs law after he donated an armoured vehicle to Tsvangirai for use during a June second round presidential election, controversially won by President Robert Mugabe.
The businessman, Adriaan Espag, brought the vehicle – a bullet-proof BMW X5 registered in South Africa – into Zimbabwe and gave it to Tsvangirai.
Additional Reporting by ZW News
Posted by Wellington Chadehumbe
on January 5, 2009. Filed under Local News.
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