'Baba Jukwa' suspect lodges High Court bail bid today

Sunday Mail Editor Edmund Kudzayi, who is accused of subversion and undermining the authority of the President, will file his bail application at the High Court today after his lawyer completed drafting the papers yesterday.

Mr Admire Rubaya of Rubaya and Chatambudza law firm said he had since finished drafting the application and by close of business yesterday he was making frantic efforts to have Kudzayi sign some documents to accompany the application.

"We have finished drafting the papers," said Mr Rubaya. "The application is now ready for filing. It will be filed tomorrow (today), first thing in the morning."

Kudzayi (28) appeared at the Harare Magistrates' Courts on Monday, but magistrate Mr Vakayi Chikwekwe refused to hear his bail application and advised him to approach the High Court because the charges he faces were serious.

Mr Chikwekwe said he did not have jurisdiction to grant bail on matters involving banditry and insurgency which carry a life sentence upon conviction.

Kudzayi was remanded in custody to July 7 for routine remand.

He is facing charges of attempting to subvert a constitutionally elected government or alternatively attempting to commit an act of insurgency, banditry, sabotage or terrorism.

He is facing two other charges of undermining the authority of the President and contravening the Firearms Act.

Kudzayi is accused of being the brains behind the shadowy Facebook character known as Baba Jukwa, through which he is alleged to have published or communicated false statements prejudicial to the State.

It is alleged that in April 2013, Kudzayi hatched a plan with his brother, Philip Kudzayi, to overthrow the Government through unconstitutional means.

It is alleged he created a Gmail account, babajukwa2013@gmail.com using a mobile phone line registered in Philip's name, but used by Kudzayi.

The two allegedly formed two separate groups called the Gunda Nleya Brigade and the Zimbabwe Revolutionary Army to overthrow the Government.

He allegedly posted articles on the Baba Jukwa's Facebook page which encouraged rebellion against Government if the July 31 general election "were stolen".

They also posted articles to the effect that they had a Dare reChimurenga in place and that a team was on the ground studying the situation in Zimbabwe.

On May 11 this year, the court heard that The Sunday Mail published a story about the true identity of Baba Jukwa titled "Hackers unmask Baba Jukwa".

Investigations, however, revealed that the accused was the one in control of the Baba Jukwa Gmail account as his details were on the recovery panel of the said account, that it was his email address and his brother's Econet mobile number which he was using.

Investigations revealed that the account was never hacked into, the court heard.

It is the State's case that Kudzayi allegedly undermined the authority of the President in an article he wrote on August 7 2008.

The Zimbabwe Mail, an online publication, allegedly published the article with knowledge that the information was false.

In the said article, according to the State, Kudzayi went on to "falsely label the President a dictator who commits gross human rights abuses" and further accused him of having stolen the 2008 elections and that he had been presiding over an economic collapse.