Police arrest 6 bond note protesters

ZIMBABWE Republic Police (ZRP) officers have  arrested six people including a teenager for allegedly taking part in a demonstration held in Harare to protest against the introduction of bond notes.

ZRP officers arrested six people including Pfungwa Gunda, Costa Zvokusekwa and a 15 year-old minor and charged them with inciting public violence.

The ZRP officers claimed that the six, who are represented by Jeremiah Bamu of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) went on a rampage throwing stones at people standing in bank queues and telling them not to withdraw bond notes, which banks started dispensing on Monday 28 November 2016.

Meanwhile, Harare Magistrate Vongai Guwuriro will on Thursday 01 December 2016 hand down her ruling on an application challenging the legality of the arrest of three pro-democracy campaigners namely Promise Mkwananzi, Mehluli Dube and Kudakwashe Manjonjo.

Mkwananzi, Dube and Manjonjo were arrested on Monday 28 November 2016 in Harare by ZRP officers for allegedly participating in a a gathering with intent to promote public violence, breaches of the peace or bigotry as defined in Section 37 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23 or alternatively criminal nuisance as defined in Section 46 as read with Section 2 (f) to the Third Schedule of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23.

In the application, Mkwananzi, Dube and Manjonjo, who are represented by Obey Shava and Webster Jiti of ZLHR, raised two preliminary issues regarding the violation of their constitutional rights which pertains to breaches to their right to be informed of the charge at the time of arrest and the right to legal representation.

The trio argued that the charges preferred against them were not put to them upon arrest and that they were deprived of the right to legal representation after their lawyers were denied access to their clients by Mirian Phiri, the Officer in Charge at Harare Central Police Station, where they were detained after being arrested.

On Thursday 01 December 2016, High Court Judge Justice Priscilla Munangati-Manongwa will preside over the hearing of an urgent chamber application for a harbeus corpus filed on Tuesday 29 November 2016 by Mkwananzi, Dube and Manjonjo's lawyers seeking an order quashing the charges preferred against the pro-democracy campaigners.

Mkwananzi, Dube and Manjonjo cited Phiri, the Officer In Charge at Harare Central Police Station, Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri and Home Affairs Minister Hon. Ignatius Chombo as respondents in their urgent chamber application.

Prosecutor Sebastian Mutizirwa of the National Prosecuting Authority alleged that Mkwananzi, Dube and Manjonjo, whom he labelled as being members of #Tajamuka pressure group and others whom the State claimed are still to be apprehended, gathered in central Harare on Monday 28 November 2016 and took turns to address about 25 people inciting them to shun the introduction of bond notes by the government and corruption committed by senior government officials.

Mutizirwa claimed that the trio, which wore some T-shirts inscribed Tajamuka, Enough is enough, Citizens class action and petition, no to bond notes and #hatichada #hatichatya, encouraged members of the public to participate in a planned violent demonstration planned for Wednesday 30 November 2016 in which they vowed to attack ZRP officers if they attempted to block the anti-government protest.