A Harare magistrate has set February 14 as the date for delivery of ruling on application for refusal of further remand filed by two Borrowdale men who allegedly erected an illegal billboard discrediting a local property developing company.
The suspects, Grant Russel of Fairclot Investrnents and Mark Strathen of Paragon Printing, are facing criminal nuisance charges.
The duo had filed an application for refusal of remand through their lawyer Tendai Biti saying they have a prospect of success in their application filed before the Supreme Court.
They are also currently challenging a High Court order to proceed to trial after they unsuccessfully sought the court to quash the charge.
They had applied for exception to the charge at the lower court saying the charges were defective and must be quashed, but then Harare magistrate Shane Kubonera dismissed their application.
Aggrieved by the dismissal of their application, they approached the High Court for review but the upper court again ordered them to proceed to trial and defend themselves.
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It is the State case that on December 10, 2020 at around 2pm on the opposite side of Celebration Church in Borrowdale, Harare, the accused persons erected a billboard with damaging information on WestProperties in a bid to tarnish its image.
The State alleges that the billboard had contents which were likely to interfere with the ordinary comfort or convenience of the complainant’s clients. The complainant made a report to the police, leading to the pair’s arrest.