Tomana Tries to Block Gwezere’s Release
HARARE – The Attorney General’s Office has lodged an application in the High Court seeking leave to challenge in the Supreme Court the release on bail of Pasco Gwezere, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) transport manager.
Gwezere was abducted and jailed for allegedly stealing 20 AK-47 rifles from Pomona Army Barracks.
Chief law officer Michael Mugabe lodged the application this week seeking to quash a bail order granted by High Court judge, Justice Charles Hungwe two weeks ago in the Supreme Court.
The High Court granted Gwezere US$500 bail and a string of stringent conditions a fortnight ago, but the State immediately invoked the draconian Section 121 subsection 3 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act, which meant he had to stay in remand for a further seven days.
The seven days elapsed last week on Friday but Gwezere remains jailed.
The Supreme Court is now expected to sit as a Constitutional Court to make a determination in the matter, after Justice Hungwe granted the State leave to appeal to the highest court in the land against his order to release Gwezere on bail.
The State contends he faces very serious charges.
Gwezere is charged with stealing firearms from Pomona Barracks and receiving military training in Uganda a decade ago. The military training charge has already been thrown out by the magistrates’ court.
Gwezere remains jailed with no access to medical attention. Zimbabwe Prison Service (ZPS) officials are defying a court order directing that he gets medical attention for injuries sustained when he was tortured following his abduction.
Gwezere has been transferred from Harare Remand Prison to Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison. Gwezere’s lawyer, Alec Muchadehama has protested that his client was still not receiving proper and adequate attention from the prison doctors, despite a ruling by Magistrate Archie Wochiunga three weeks ago ordering prison doctors to treat him.
In an affidavit filed with the court, Chief Superintendent Charles Ngirishi, the Officer Commanding Criminal Investigations Department Law and Order at Harare Central police station, alleges that Gwezere broke into Pomona Army Barracks One Engineers Support Regiment Armoury on October 20 2009 together with a lady only identified as Getrude and several army officers and stole 20 AK 47 rifles and a shot gun, which they took to an unknown destination.
In another affidavit tendered in court, Last Ngwenya, a security officer in the President’s Office claimed that Gwezere held meetings with unidentified army officers in the Harare Gardens to strategise on how they would break in and steal firearms from the armoury at Pomona Army Barracks. Ngwenya accused Gwezere of pledging to organize vehicles to ferry the stolen weapons from Pomona to an unknown destination.
The State says five of those security officials have been apprehended and would face court martial. Another one of Gwezere’s alleged co-accused has been slapped with a lengthy jail term of 15 years.
The MDC transport manager was abducted in October and forced into an Isuzu KB 250 twin cab and driven to Marimba Police Station before being taken to various places where he was interrogated about MDC leader and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s strategy in disengaging from Cabinet and Council of Ministers’ meetings.
The MDC worker was denied food and legal representation during his detention.
Gwezere accused his abductors of torturing him since his abduction. Muchadehama said Gwezere sustained serious injuries on his head, wrist, mouth, ear, feet, leg, buttocks, back and genitals during the torture sessions.
The human rights lawyer said Gwezere is having difficulties in walking as his left leg is deteriorating and is also having difficulties in sleeping.
Alec Muchadehama
Gwezere told Muchadehama that the torture sessions also included being blindfolded, beaten under the feet (falanga style), and being beaten about the head, body and buttocks with truncheons and clenched fists.
Additional Reporting: The Zimbabwe Times
Posted by Raymond Mhaka
on December 5, 2009. Filed under Local News.
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