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Court acquits man accused of demonstrating in support of Hopewell Chin'ono

by Mandla Ndlovu
28 Sep 2020 at 12:18hrs | Views
Bulawayo Magistrate Shepherd Mjanja has acquitted a 22-year-old Muzingaye Thaka represented by Lison Ncube of ZLHR, who had been on trial after he was arrested on 30 July for embarking on a one-man demo protesting against arrest detention of Hopewell Chin'ono and Ngarivhume.

Muzingaye was arrested and charged with inciting public violence when he was carrying a placard written: Free Hopewell and Jacob journalism is not a crime, kasifuni bumbulu, sesidiniwe we are tired. We deserve better. Stop corruption. We want better Stop police brutality. We want better.

The other messages read: Respect the Constitution. We want a living wage, free Zimbabwe.

Muzingaye was acquitted at the close of the prosecution case after Ncube applied for discharge arguing that his client had not committed an offence warranting him to be put on trial.

Magistrate Mjanja ruled that the state had dismally failed to prove its case during trial and that police officers who arrested Muzingaye were overzealous and acted prematurely in apprehending him.



Source - ZLHR