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Ngarivhume removed from remand as State fails to produce witnesses
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Transform Zimbabwe leader Jacob Ngarivhume has been removed from remand after the State failed to bring witnesses to testify in a case in which he was charged with attending an unlawful gathering and disorderly conduct.
Harare magistrate Winfilda Tiyatara presided over the matter, where the prosecution withdrew the charges due to the continued absence of key witnesses. The case will now proceed by way of summons.
Ngarivhume, who was represented by lawyer Innocent Nderere, was charged alongside alleged accomplice Kelvin Gonde. The duo had been accused of participating in an illegal gathering involving 79 Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) activists.
According to court documents, the alleged incident took place on June 16, 2024, at the Avondale residence of CCC faction leader Jameson Timba. Police claimed they received a tip-off about the gathering and moved in to disperse the crowd.
The State alleged that when police arrived, they were met with a riotous group that pelted officers with stones, resulting in injuries to some law enforcement members and damage to a police Mahindra vehicle. Tear gas was used to subdue the crowd, leading to multiple arrests.
Authorities insisted that the gathering, which activists claimed was to commemorate the Day of the African Child, was in fact a pretext to incite public violence ahead of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Summit.
Timba was later sentenced to a two-year prison term, wholly suspended, while the rest of the activists received lighter suspended sentences after spending nearly five months in detention.
With Ngarivhume and Gonde now off remand, attention turns to whether the State will pursue the case through summons or allow it to quietly fade — further intensifying scrutiny over the government's handling of opposition figures and politically sensitive gatherings.
Harare magistrate Winfilda Tiyatara presided over the matter, where the prosecution withdrew the charges due to the continued absence of key witnesses. The case will now proceed by way of summons.
Ngarivhume, who was represented by lawyer Innocent Nderere, was charged alongside alleged accomplice Kelvin Gonde. The duo had been accused of participating in an illegal gathering involving 79 Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) activists.
According to court documents, the alleged incident took place on June 16, 2024, at the Avondale residence of CCC faction leader Jameson Timba. Police claimed they received a tip-off about the gathering and moved in to disperse the crowd.
The State alleged that when police arrived, they were met with a riotous group that pelted officers with stones, resulting in injuries to some law enforcement members and damage to a police Mahindra vehicle. Tear gas was used to subdue the crowd, leading to multiple arrests.
Authorities insisted that the gathering, which activists claimed was to commemorate the Day of the African Child, was in fact a pretext to incite public violence ahead of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Summit.
Timba was later sentenced to a two-year prison term, wholly suspended, while the rest of the activists received lighter suspended sentences after spending nearly five months in detention.
With Ngarivhume and Gonde now off remand, attention turns to whether the State will pursue the case through summons or allow it to quietly fade — further intensifying scrutiny over the government's handling of opposition figures and politically sensitive gatherings.
Source - online
