MDC-T activists 4 months in custody

By Lance Guma

Seven MDC-T activists are still in remand prison, over 4 months after being arrested for the death of a policeman in the Glen View suburb of Harare. The seven, arrested as part of an initial group of 26, were on Wednesday this week further remanded in custody to 19th October.

Inspector Petros Mutedza was killed at a night club in Glen View after an alleged altercation with vendors and patrons. Residents described him as a notorious thug who robbed vendors of their wares, demanded bribes and was deeply unpopular in the area. Following his death a politicised witch hunt saw dozens of MDC-T activists being arrested as ZANU PF sought political mileage from the incident.

The police claim Mutedza was murdered by MDC-T members who held a meeting at the pub, despite evidence that many of them were not even at that location. A total of 26 activists were arrested on different dates, with many of them later granted bail. The remaining seven were denied bail at the High Court in July and have since made an appeal to the Supreme Court. But the case is yet to be heard.

Meanwhile the MDC-T on Wednesday said its National Youth Assembly chairperson, Solomon Madzore, who was arrested on Tuesday, has now been transferred from Rhodesville Police Station to Harare Central Police station for interrogation. Madzore was arrested at his Waterfalls home “again on cooked up charges of murdering the Glen View police officer,” the MDC-T said.

The spokesperson for the MDC-T Youth Assembly, Clifford Hlatywayo, told SW Radio Africa that the arrest of Madzore was deliberately timed to coincide with a strike by prosecutors and law officers which began on Wednesday. Most cases set for trial were postponed after the law officials went on strike over salary discrepancies between them and magistrates.

Hlatywayo told us the idea was to keep Madzore locked up for as long as possible and weaken the youth assembly in its attempt to mobilise supporters for possible elections next year. SW Radio Africa