Thursday, May 7, 2009

Zimbabwean activists granted bail – again

By Violet Gonda
6 May 2009

The political and human rights activists who were re-arrested on Tuesday were freed on bail Wednesday. The bail request was approved by the same Magistrate who had refused to entertain it the day before. In this surprise u-turn, Magistrate Catherine Chimhanda reversed her earlier decision following an agreement with the legal teams. This clearly shows how Mugabe continues to control the rule of law in Zimbabwe as it is believed the Attorney General, Johannes Tomana, consented to the bail as a result of a meeting between Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Mutambara late Tuesday.
Prime Minister Tsvangirai’s spokesperson, James Maridadi, told SW Radio Africa that the Principals agreed in the spirit of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) that the bail conditions that were in place before the activists were re-arrested should be re-instated. He said they also summoned Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa and asked him to implement what they had agreed. Maridadi quoted the GPA, saying ‘people should be free of political persecution and discrimination of any kind.’

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