News / National
Jabulani Sibanda bail ruling today
02 Dec 2014 at 06:43hrs | Views
Former war veterans' association chairperson, Jabulani Sibanda, who sensationally claimed that President Robert Mugabe was plotting a "bedroom coup" to remove Vice-President Joice Mujuru from her position, has appeared at the Harare Magistrates' Courts for insulting the the Head of State.
Sibanda (56) is unemployed and resides at number 6337 Nkulumane in Bulawayo.
Presiding magistrate Vakai Douglas Chikwekwe on Monday remanded the ex-freedom fighter in custody and his bail application is expected to be heard on Tuesday.
The ex-combatant looked restive and tense while some of his relatives in the court gallery were visibly uneasy.
His lawyer, Sobuza Gula-Ndebele initially challenged the state, highlighting that the court had no jurisdiction to hear the matter as the offence in question had happened in the Manicaland Province.
"My instructions are that he (Sibanda) was picked up from his farm (in Bulawayo) and was told that he had been picked for a discussion, and he did not consent to be moved to Harare. The accused person is not consenting to remand…," said Gula-Ndebele.
However, the investigating officer in the matter, police Chief Superintendant Luckson Mukazhi took to the witness stand and said Sibanda had told him that he had no problem being tried in the capital.
"We asked the accused if he was willing to be tried in Harare, initially on Saturday and this morning, I asked him the same question and he said there was no law which is different whether in Muzarabani or elsewhere," Mukazhi said.
After further consultations between the two parties, the initial remand was heard in the same court with the bail application set for today.
Gula-Ndebele, however, expressed concern on his client's liberty, saying: "Depriving a person's liberty cannot be done arbitrarily in terms of our constitution."
It is the state case that on October 27, at Herbert Mine, Mutasa, the accused addressed an illegal gathering of war veterans.
The group had allegedly gathered at the mine purportedly for reburial of exhumed remains of deceased liberation war fighters, despite the event having been re-scheduled to a later date.
At around 1400hrs, Sibanda allegedly delivered a lengthy speech in which he allegedly said President Mugabe and his wife were plotting a 'bedroom' or a 'boardroom' coup.
The court also heard that Sibanda allegedly stated that the 'coup' was meant to remove the country's Vice-President Mujuru from her current position within the ruling party and government, to be replaced by First Lady Grace Mugabe.
It is further alleged that Sibanda told the gathering that he was not prepared for such a move as "power was not sexually transmitted".
Sibanda (56) is unemployed and resides at number 6337 Nkulumane in Bulawayo.
Presiding magistrate Vakai Douglas Chikwekwe on Monday remanded the ex-freedom fighter in custody and his bail application is expected to be heard on Tuesday.
The ex-combatant looked restive and tense while some of his relatives in the court gallery were visibly uneasy.
His lawyer, Sobuza Gula-Ndebele initially challenged the state, highlighting that the court had no jurisdiction to hear the matter as the offence in question had happened in the Manicaland Province.
"My instructions are that he (Sibanda) was picked up from his farm (in Bulawayo) and was told that he had been picked for a discussion, and he did not consent to be moved to Harare. The accused person is not consenting to remand…," said Gula-Ndebele.
However, the investigating officer in the matter, police Chief Superintendant Luckson Mukazhi took to the witness stand and said Sibanda had told him that he had no problem being tried in the capital.
After further consultations between the two parties, the initial remand was heard in the same court with the bail application set for today.
Gula-Ndebele, however, expressed concern on his client's liberty, saying: "Depriving a person's liberty cannot be done arbitrarily in terms of our constitution."
It is the state case that on October 27, at Herbert Mine, Mutasa, the accused addressed an illegal gathering of war veterans.
The group had allegedly gathered at the mine purportedly for reburial of exhumed remains of deceased liberation war fighters, despite the event having been re-scheduled to a later date.
At around 1400hrs, Sibanda allegedly delivered a lengthy speech in which he allegedly said President Mugabe and his wife were plotting a 'bedroom' or a 'boardroom' coup.
The court also heard that Sibanda allegedly stated that the 'coup' was meant to remove the country's Vice-President Mujuru from her current position within the ruling party and government, to be replaced by First Lady Grace Mugabe.
It is further alleged that Sibanda told the gathering that he was not prepared for such a move as "power was not sexually transmitted".
Source - Zim Mail
