Mamombe's passport request dismissed

OPPOSITION legislator, Joana Mamombe currently facing a slew of criminal charges had her request for temporary release of her passport dismissed because her co-accused skipped the country after applying for theirs.

Mamombe made the request, intending to travel to Kenya to attend the Amujae Leadership Forum.

Her initial application was dismissed by a magistrate who ruled that she was not invited but had applied, well aware that she is under travel restrictions.

The lower court also declined her request, ruling that her "co-accused absconded after applying for the release of her passport."

Mamombe was jointly charged with Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova who has since left the country.

They are accused of publishing falsehoods and faking an abduction to soil the government's image among other charges.

In mounting her appeal after her application was dismissed at the lower court, her lawyer, Jeremiah Bamu said the magistrate was improperly influenced by the view that her colleague who absconded had done so after applying for the release of her passport "yet she just fled".

He said the magistrate failed to appreciate that Mamombe's circumstances were distinguishable from those of her co-accused.

High Court judge Pisirayi Kwenda did not concur.

"It defies logic to say it is still in the interests of justice for the appellant to surrender her passport but the passport can be given to her to use when she needs to travel. It is equally absurd to say it is in the interests of justice for her to report every two days to allay fears of absconding and yet allow her to travel outside the country.

"What is worse, in this case the appellant created the need to travel by applying to be invited to the Forum in Nairobi.

"What I now have before me is a fresh application for alteration of bail recognisance which will result in some of the essential terms of the existing bail order being deleted and being substituted with new conditions…the appeal cannot succeed," he ruled.