The four members arrested in Harare on 18th June appeared in Harare Magistrate’s Court again this morning. Magistrate Majonga had postponed the matter from Friday 3rd July in order for the state to explain why the four defendants had been assaulted in police custody and why they had been denied medical treatment. On arrival at court, the prosecutor, Public Mpofu, withdrew the charges of disturbing the peace, as the state could find no witnesses that had had their peace disturbed. By so doing, the state had hoped to avoid the matter of the assaults in custody.
Nonetheless, defence lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa insisted that the matter of the assaults be brought before the Magistrate, as had been her order on 3rd July. Whilst the magistrate indicated that it was highly unusual for her to be dealing with a matter when charges had been withdrawn, the defence reminded her that they were two different matters and that the four women were complainants in a case against the police for assault. The police were still not prepared to answer why the assaults had occurred or if the officers responsible were being investigated. Furthermore, the Officer in Charge of the Law and Order Unit at Harare Central claimed that he had not received a report of the assaults from the four women while they were under arrest.
Ms Mtetwa contested this claim by reminding him that she had personally shown him the women’s injuries and had requested medical treatment for the four women. When the two medical personnel that she had arranged to attend to the women arrived, he would not allow them to treat the women, despite their obvious injuries and severe pain, and ordered a female police officer to process the women to be taken to Parirenyatwa Hospital instead. It was after the four forms had been completed that the Officer Commanding refused to allow the women to be taken to hospital as punishment for ’embarrassing the state during Irene Khan’s (the Secretary-General of Amnesty International) visit.’ Ms Mtetwa offered to produce the two medical personnel and the four defendants as witnesses to corroborate this version of events.
The matter has been postponed until Tuesday 7th July for the magistrate to rule on whether the police need to answer on why the women were assaulted and why they were denied medical treatment.
In a separate matter, the state has indicated that it is ready to proceed with the trial against Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu tomorrow, 7th July, on charges of disturbing the peace despite the fact that the Supreme Court has yet to give its written judgement on the matter. When the two last appeared in Bulawayo Magistrate’s Court on 30th April, the state agreed to a long remand in order to give time for the Supreme Court to rule and indicated that if a decision had not been received by this time, Williams and Mahlangu would be removed off remand pending the decision. Nonetheless, prosecutor Chifamba told defence lawyer, Kossam Ncube today that he had been directed to proceed with the trial when the two appear on remand tomorrow.
The full panel of Supreme Court judges had met to consider the case on 4th June and had given a verbal ruling before they reserved judgement that the two women had been unlawfully arrested and that they should be looking to indict the arresting officers. The state had conceded in their response that the arrest on 16th October 2008 had indeed been unlawful. Judge Chidyausiku undertook to provide the written ruling before 7th July. Despite the fact that defence advocate Mpofu has formally written to the Supreme Court requesting the ruling, the written ruling has not yet been received.