News / National
Constitutional Court frees voter educators
03 Sep 2014 at 17:13hrs | Views
The Constitutional Court has ruled that the prosecution of three Election Resource Centre employees for conducting voter education without approval from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission through distributing fliers violates their right to liberty.
Trust Maanda, who represented the three who were arrested in May last year in the run-up to the harmonised polls, successfully argued that his clients' rights under section 49 (1) b of the constitution were threatened by prosecution.
He said it was owing to this threat that he made an application for the protection of his freedom of expression.
The court made an observation that indeed distributing fliers does not constitute an offence, which was conceded to by the Prosecutor General.
The court, further ruled that before it entertains any matter, it is a cardinal principle and trite law that the facts alleged must disclose an offence.
Chief Justice Chidyausiku dismissed the application by the prosecutor general with no order as to costs.
Trust Maanda, who represented the three who were arrested in May last year in the run-up to the harmonised polls, successfully argued that his clients' rights under section 49 (1) b of the constitution were threatened by prosecution.
He said it was owing to this threat that he made an application for the protection of his freedom of expression.
The court, further ruled that before it entertains any matter, it is a cardinal principle and trite law that the facts alleged must disclose an offence.
Chief Justice Chidyausiku dismissed the application by the prosecutor general with no order as to costs.
Source - Byo24News
