Police intend to arrest human rights lawyer Harrison Nkomo after a British journalist he represented over a week ago skipped bail.

The Standard was informed yesterday officers from the Law and Order section visited Nkomo's offices in Harare looking for the lawyer. They could not locate Nkomo, who was reported to be out of town. His phone remained unreachable yesterday.

Police sources say they want to charge Nkomo with defeating the course of justice under Section 184 Subsection I paragraph A under the Criminal Law (Reform and Codification) Act.

Nkomo represented Phillip Warington Taylor (36), who was picked up by the Central Intelligence Organisation in Harare two weeks ago.

Taylor, who denied practising journalism while in the country for 30 days, was granted bail by a Harare magistrate.

He was expected back in court on November 5, but instead sent a text message to Nkomo advising him that he had left Zimbabwe and was in South Africa.