State has no evidence, as activists rot in jail.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
The case against 29 MDC-T members accused of murdering a police officer in
Glen View in May last year is set to crumble as the State’s evidence is
weak, lawyers representing the activists have said.
23.05.1203:50pm
by Tapiwa Zivira
The activists, most of whom are still being held in custody a year later,
are expected to appear before the High Court on June 4.
Allegations are that the 29 allegedly took part in the murder of Asst Insp
Petros Mutedza during a confrontation between MDC-T members, who were
holding a meeting in the populous Glen View suburb, and the police, who had
come to disperse the meeting, claiming it was illegally convened.
The activists, it is alleged, attacked the police with stones, resulting in
Mutedza’s death. Immediately after the murder, police launched a massive
crackdown in most southwestern suburbs.
Solomon Madzore, the MDC-T National Youth Chairman, is among the accused –
but was only arrested in September 2011. His repeated attempts to be
remanded out of custody have failed.
“About 25 of them are saying they were not even at the meeting or the scene
of the murder and four are saying they were present but fled when the police
arrived to dismiss the meeting. They have strong alibis,” their lawyer,
Charles Kwaramba, told The Zimbabwean.
He said the autopsy shows that Mutedza could not have been murdered by more
than three people.
“The post mortem shows one blow and a few bruises in the head and this
cannot be said to be a result of the actions of many people,” he said.
Read more: State has no evidence, as activists rot in jail.
Drafting of new constitution back on track
ttp://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tichaona Sibanda
23 May 2012
The drafting of a new constitution was said to be ‘back on track’ after
COPAC reached ‘common ground’ on contentious issues during a meeting in
Harare on Wednesday.
All parties to the GPA attended the meeting, the first in two weeks after a
period blighted by a ZANU PF boycott of the process. Senior figures from
ZANU PF, including COPAC co-chairperson Paul Mangwana, were present when
COPAC took a step torwards finalising the drafting of a new charter.
The breakthrough comes as the SADC regional bloc was putting pressure on all
parties in the GPA to work together to end the current impasse, amid reports
that Zimbabweans are fed up of waiting for a new constitution while the
process dragged on indefinitely.
SW Radio Africa is reliably informed the SADC chairman, Namibian president
Hifikepunye Pohamba has been pushing for all sides to put aside partisan
differences so they can resume work to serve the people, and restore
confidence in the process.
Douglas Mwonzora, the MDC-T co-chairman in COPAC told us ‘ZANU PF is back in
the fold, cooperating and beginning to sound reasonable. He explained that
the party had tried to derail the process by introducing some completely new
and unacceptable issues in their “position paper”.
‘We completely rejected that 29-page document and said that we should work
on the draft the way we’ve always done. We are happy to say that we reached
common ground today and that we will try to finalize this process by the end
of next week,’ Mwonzora said on Wednesday.
Read more: Drafting of new constitution back on track
Politics of change and change of politics
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