HARARE magistrate yesterday postponed a case in which three human right’s activists want charges against them dropped citing lack of evidence.
Harare magistrate Rufaro Panavanhu yesterday postponed the case after it emerged that the State had not responded to the application for exemption by the activists.
Activists Namatai Kwekweza, Robson Chere and Samuel Gwenzi face allegations of protesting outside the Harare Magistrates Court against the continued detention of dozens of opposition members.
Through their defence lawyers Jeremiah Bamu and Tinashe Chinopfukutwa, the activists submitted that the State had no solid case.
They argued that the accused persons were not present at the time the offence was committed.
The defence argued that this is a crucial aspect of the case, as it challenges the prosecution's ability to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The trio claimed that it was held incommunicado and tortured for several hours following its dramatic arrest at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in July this year.
It was released on September 4.
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The matter was remanded to December 18 for ruling on the application of exemption.
Panavanhu previously ruled that the activists can approach the investigating officer who arrested them to collect their gadgets which include cellphones.
Kwekweza recently failed to replace her national identification document (ID) at the Civil Registry Department following her inclusion on the government’s “Stop List” in 2020.
A Stop List contains names of people deprived of particular rights, privileges or services or with whom members of an association are forbidden to do business.
