Old women from Maleme village demand to be arrested with their men

OVER 18 old women from the troubled Maleme Village in Matobo North have organized transport this morning they are going to Kezi police station demanding to be arrested and tried together with the other twelve men that were detained yesterday and are appearing in court today.

A total of 12 villagers from troubled village were expected to appear at the Kezi magistrates court this morning facing charges of kidnapping.

The state case against the 12 is that on Sunday the 8th of March 2015 the 12 kidnapped a named security guard who was guarding a farm allocated by government to one Rodrick Mashingaidze. The papers do not state where the kidnappers took their captive to.

However, witnesses who were at the farm on the day of the incident claim that the villagers did not kidnap the said "security guard" but opened the farm gates and ordered him to leave the farm and go back where he came from. A group of chanting villagers is said to have escorted the "evicted" guard to a nearby bus stop to get transport home.

The 12 accused men who are represented by lawyers from the Lawyers For Human Rights were last night given free bail at the police station and ordered to report at 10am today for their trial. A huge crowd is expected at the small court as scores of villagers are reported to have been walking through the night from Natisa Village in Maleme Ranch to Kezi to back their colleagues.

According to reports, the entire village is said to be demanding the police to arrest them as they all took part in the eviction of the said guard. Police details who remain in full force in the area are also reported to be making efforts to block the villagers from going to Kezi for the court case which is likely to be disrupted by the huge crowd expected.