FORMER Highfield legislator Munyaradzi Gwisai and his 45 alleged accomplices, accused of plotting an Egypt and Tunisia-style uprising to oust a constitutionally-elected Government in Zimbabwe, yesterday appeared in court facing treason charges.
Gwisai, who is also the general co-ordinator of the International Socialist Organisation, two ISO staffers Antonator Choto and Tatenda Mombeyarara, Edson Chakuma, Hopewell Gumbo, Welcome Zimuto and 40 others appeared before Harare magistrate Mr Munamato Mutevedzi.
Among them were 11 women.
The group was arrested during a meeting which police say they had not been notified of in line with the law in Harare over the weekend.
Prosecutors Mr Edmore Nyazamba and Mr Dumisani Mthombeni applied to have them remanded on charges of treason.
Defence lawyers Mr Alec Muchadehama and Mr Marufu Mandevere said they did not get full instructions from their clients as they were only given State papers in court yesterday.
Mr Mutevedzi deferred the matter to today and defence lawyers gave notice that they would apply for refusal of remand.
It is the State's case that on February 19 this year, Gwisai (46), Choto (36) and Mombeyarara called for a meeting at number 43 Julius Nyerere Way.
The participants, it is alleged, were drawn from all over the country with the bulk coming from Harare and Chitungwiza. Entry was allegedly by invitation only and a host of speakers were lined up.
The meeting's theme was "ISO calls on workers, students and working people to support the struggle in solidarity with Egyptian and Tunisian workers", it is alleged.
Other speakers lined up did not turn up save for Gwisai, and they were replaced by Gumbo, Zimuto and Choto alias T Sando.
Gwisai allegedly invited ISO, Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, Zimbabwe National Students Association and Medical Professions Allied Workers' Union representatives to the meeting.
The purpose, the prosecution says, was to organise, stra-tegise and implement the removal of the Government of Zimbabwe by unconstitutional means.
They allegedly viewed a video showing the demonstrations and subsequent removal of former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak and his Tunisian counterpart Zine El Abi-dine Ben Ali.
In their speeches, they reportedly claimed there was a long-serving dictator/authoritarian leader, general hunger, unemployment and capitalist practices by a few individuals while the general populace of Zimbabwe was suffering.
They allegedly likened the scenario with the one that existed in Egypt and Tunisia before the revolts.
It is alleged they said Zimbabwe should revert to socia-lism.
The attendants, the court heard, actively participated in the proposed plan and supported implementation of a revolt against the constitutional Government of Zimbabwe.
All of them allegedly expressed their agreement with the plan.
The State says they were organising/ setting up plans/organising boards for implementation of the illegal revolt.
Police arrested the group after a tip-off and the invitations and video equipment were recovered.
The inscriptions on the items read: "Change is now Socialism ISO" and "Marxism in the Millennium MDC Ndizvo".
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Laybak68;
Everything that was followed or done to result in or come up with the current government is or was within the constitution - it is indeed, a "constitutionally elected government", made up of the revolutionary party, ZANU-PF and the two-headed (one head called 'T' while the other is either 'M' or 'N') stooge and puppet MDC party.
This government was born out of an election (inconclusive though it may be) but the fact still remains that the setting up of this government was in accordance with the constitution of this country. Anyone who doubts that is a perfect candidate for hell.
Therefore, it is what you are saying that is "BULLSHIT", it is crap, it is pure tosh and above all it is garbage from the garbage dump. The problem with you is that you are so retarded you can't catch up with current events to know that this is not a ZANU-PF government. A government formed by ZANU-PF alone ended on 13 February 2009 (more than two years ago), in case you did not know.
Amendment No. 19 is now part of our constitution (having been inserted into the constitution with the concurrency of MPs from the three (3) parties and an independent) and is the one that brought about the post of Prime Minister of which Chamatama is the current occupant. The PM has two deputies; one from his sellout MDC-T party while the other comes from the second head of the two-headed snake.
Although it is an unpleasant arrangement (especially for revolutionaries to work with sellout and reactionary forces), it is nonetheless a situation we have to accept because we found ourselves in this awkward position. It was the desire of the people of Zimbabwe who voted, in equal numbers, both ZANU-PF and the puppet MDC-T party, while a small number of MPs (10 to be precise) went to the other head of MDC.
ANYONE, therefore, who plots the removal of such a wide and representative government (which cut across the entire spectrum of our whole society) is, by that action, committing treason and should be charged as such. It does not matter whether the person(s) are or claim to be socialists or Marxists; they should, if convicted, be given the maximum sentence but not death of course (I personally do not subscribe to that).
It is, therefore, not true that when the Herald reports on what was said in a public court of law it is "licking the arse of Mugraper and his poofs" (whoever that is) but is protecting the "constitutionally elected government" of President Mugabe, Prime Minister Chamatama and Deputy PM Mutambara, as the three principals to the GPA.
Any action that result in the removal (Egyptian or what ever style) of this government will culminate in the ILLEGAL ousting of the most popular figures or their parties, in the Zimbabwe politics.
I shudder to think what Munyaradzi Gwisai intends to replace this government with - a military dictator (like in Egypt) or an unelected and unelectable bunch of nincompoops, ignoramus, imbeciles and idiotic morons from the so-called International Socialist Organization (ISO) - an outfit similar to Al Qaeda.
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Tacky,
If Mugabe won the run off election freely and fairly, and this is the will of the people, then why was he forced to include MT as Prime Minister? And why did he back down and do this? Considering his views of the MDC and all...
"ANYONE, therefore, who plots the removal of such a wide and representative government (which cut across the entire spectrum of our whole society) is, by that action, committing treason and should be charged as such."
Really? In any democratic country, opposition parties plan the removal of the incumbant party every day. Should all opposition parties in the world be charged with treason?
Should all Egyptians that took part in the peaceful protests to bring down Mubarak also be charged with treason?
Why should anyone that is planning peaceful protests against an exisiting government be charged with treason? Its a persons basic human right to peacefully protest.
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