Lynda Masarira case postponed, prison service claims it had no fuel to bring her to court
By Tatenda Dewa | Harare Bureau |
The trial of Lynda Masarira, an activist who has been languishing in prison since July, was on Wednesday once again postponed to 27 September after the prisons services department failed to bring her to court.
She was set to appear in court together with 10 other activists who were also arrested during a shutdown protest in Harare on 6 July and has not tested freedom since then.
The 11 are being represented by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) members, Kudzayi Kadzere and Obey Shava.
Their trial was scheduled to continue from Wednesday to Friday but the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) failed to bring Masarira to court on time.
The other 10 have since been granted bail.
ZLHR senior member, Andrew Makoni, has since filed an urgent application to compel authorities to produce Linda at the High Court.
In the application, Makoni is challenging the continued incarceration of Linda, who was supposed to appear before a Mutare magistrate for a default inquiry for a pending case.
The courts have justified keeping her in custody for allegedly violating her bail conditions in the Mutare case.
Makoni’s application notes that the continued imprisonment of Masarira violates her constitutional right to freedom of movement.
Her trial began on 25 August and she has appeared at the Mbare magistrates court on numerous occasions. Nehanda Radio
