The Sunday News
Simba Jemwa, Court Correspondent
The trial of Freedom of Rights Under Sovereign (FORUS) party president Manyara Irene Muyenziwa (44) and two of her party’s members, Minela Mono (50) and Tinashe Muzamhindo (37), has been postponed to November 10.
Facing charges of contravening the provisions of the Maintenance of Peace and Order Act, the trio appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Steven Ndlovu on Monday for the beginning of their trial. They were charged with illegally organising and holding a public gathering within the city that was attended by about 62 people. The accused persons deny the charges.
The case was postponed to November 10 at the request of Patience Dube appearing for the State and assisted by Dominic Moyo to allow a key witness in the care to return to the country from South Africa.
In testimony presented to the court at the beginning of the trial, the Officer Commanding Bulawayo Central District, Chief Superintendent Never Tembo said the trio had organised and held an illegal public gathering in the city on September 7 without notifying or seeking authority from the regulatory authority in the district as per the dictates of the Maintenance of Peace and Order Act.
However, under cross examination from the trio’s defense led by Nqobani Sithole who was assisted by the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights duo of Lison Ncube and, Chief Superintendent Tembo also testified that under the same Act, a public gathering is any number of people over 15 who meet in a public place without authority of his office.
Leading the defense team’s cross examination of Chief Superintendent Tembo, Ncube contended that the State’s case as stated in the charge sheet was not accurate and questioned the charges in relation to the sections that deal with the Act’s interpretation of ‘public gatherings’ as well as ‘public places’ and ‘public meetings’.
Chief Superintendent Tembo testified that according to the facts of the case, the gathering was neither a ‘public meeting or gathering’ nor in ‘public place’.
Presenting his testimony, a State witness, Detective Patrice Nhekathi confirmed that he was assigned the duty to attend to a tip that an illegal gathering was taking place in the city. Det. Sgt. Nhekathi said he and his colleagues proceed to go to the scene and indeed found that there was a public gathering. He further testified that he then asked for the convenor or senior official of the gathering at which point accused number One, Mono came out of the hall to attend to him and explained that she was the organiser of the gathering but not the convenor.
The police officer told the court that after interviewing Mono, she implicated the duo of Muyenziwa and Muzamhindo of being co-organisers of the gathering leading the officer on the scene interviewing them before placing all three under arrest.
@simbajemwa
