Published by the government of Zimbabwe
6 January 2009
Harare — THE Attorney General's Office yesterday urged the court to dismiss various court applications being made by lawyers representing Zimbabwe Peace Project director Jestina Mukoko and 15 MDC-T activists, saying they were just tactics employed to delay trial proceedings.
Director of Public Prosecution (Criminal Division) in the AG's Office Mrs Florence Ziyambi raised the concern while responding to applications by defence lawyers to stall the proceedings at the Harare Magistrates' Court pending urgent chamber applications and appeals that had been filed at the High Court.
The call was made at a time Mr Charles Kwaramba, who was representing Mukoko's six alleged accomplices in a case of allegedly recruiting people for banditry training, sought a postponement while awaiting the High Court's determination on his clients' appeal against magistrate Mr Mishrod Guvamombe's ruling of last Wednesday.
Mr Kwaramba appealed against the dismissal of his clients' application in which they were challenging their placement on remand.
He is arguing that the six would have been granted release if they had been taken to court by 4pm on November 11, 2008 and that they were remanded despite the fact that the State had not appealed against that court order.
In the same session, defence counsel Mr Alec Muchadehama applied for postponement of the seven suspected bombers' case on the strength of an urgent chamber application for the suspects to be treated at Avenues Clinic that was pending in the High Court.
Mr Muchadehama submitted that the magistrates' court last week allowed the seven, among others, to be examined by doctors of choice, but they were now seeking an order to be treated.
Mukoko and two others, Broderick Takawira and Audrey Zimbidzana, also had their cases deferred to today as they had some applications pending in a superior court.
Mrs Ziyambi said the lawyers were dragging the case and that the court should not entertain the applications.
"Each time the accused persons are brought before a magistrate for remand proceedings, lawyers rush to the High Court and file appeals and urgent chamber applications in a bid to bar the proceedings.
"That is tantamount to interference with the powers of the Attorney General to institute prosecution.
"They are infringing powers vested in us to prosecute and if the court allows them to continue, then these cases would never go anywhere.
"These applications are tactics meant to bar this court from proceeding with these cases," said Mrs Ziyambi.
Responding to the submissions, Mr Muchadehama said it was permissible in law to make the applications and to appeal whenever necessary.
He said the AG's powers were never infringed in any way and that it was unfair for the State to just prosecute the accused while they were ill.
"Access to medication is a basic right and there is no infringement nor attempt to do so. The AG should prosecute people justly and transparently," Mr Muchadehama said.
He further submitted that the AG's Office was "a collaborator to the perceived torture of the suspects", to which Mrs Ziyambi and chief law officer Mr Michael Mugabe strongly objected and demanded a retraction.
But magistrate Ms Olivia Mariga did not rule on the objection and remanded the suspected bombers to January 7 pending the High Court's decision on the medication appeal.
Mukoko and six others will be back in court today.
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