/ 5 April 2013

Schlerotic pace of MDC murder case an ‘election strategy’

MDC-Tsvangirai supporters mob Solomon Madzore
MDC-Tsvangirai supporters mob Solomon Madzore

Accused of murdering a police inspector in May 2011 in Glenview 3, a township in Harare, 29 Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) activists had their murder case postponed yet again this week to April 23 in a case that has dragged on for nearly two years.

Despite the fact that the MDC is part of the unity government, it seems powerless to ensure that its members get a fair and timeous trial.

Five of the 29 MDC members are still in remand prison after they had been denied bail on several occasions. The state claims the five are a flight risk. Those still in remand are: Last Maengahama, a national executive member; Harare councillor Tungamirai Madzokere; Yvonne Musarurwa, a youth assembly gender representative; Harare provincial executive member Rebecca Mafukeni; and Simon Mapanzure, the district chairperson for Mufakose.

Solomon Madzore, the firebrand MDC youth leader, also a part of the arrested group of MDC activists, was released last year after spending nearly a year in jail.

The state's case is that a policeman, inspector Petrus Mutedza, who was part of a police unit deployed to break up what is described as an "illegal" MDC gathering in Glenview, was allegedly killed by a mob that stoned, kicked and punched him to death. The state said the gathering did not have police clearance as prescribed under the Public Order and Security Act.

The MDC activists deny the murder charges against them and say they have been trumped up by the state to intimidate them. Testifying last year, Tichaona Mutedza, the brother of the slain policeman instead accused Zanu-PF members of killing him.

"On the day in question, Zanu-PF activists dressed themselves in MDC T-shirts in a well-orchestrated move and my brother was killed because he was supporting me every time I was under attack by Zanu-PF supporters," Mutedza said in his court statement.

Since it started, the trial has been subject to several deferements, with just the bail application for the 29 activists postponed more than seven times, mainly to allow the state to build its case.

The last state witness, pathologist Dr Alviero Aguero, took the witness stand last month, after nearly six months of attempts to try to get him on the witness stand. Aguero first had to seek permission to testify from the Cuban government and in his testimony indicated that Mutedza's postmortem showed he had wounds sustained from an assault.

Political analyst Trevor Maisiri said the long-winded nature of the case was an attempt by the state to portray the MDC as a violent party ahead of crucial elections and to justify the state security apparatus's heavy hand against the opposition.

Human-rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa, who is the defence team's lead attorney for the 29 this week, asked for more time to study the transcript of the trial, which runs into thousands of pages so far. Mtetwa, who spent a week last month in police custody, conceded that faith in the country's judiciary was at an all-time low, as police blatantly defied a high court order to release her.

"The rule of law must return to the country, which is the only way people will start believing in the justice system once more. Without the full restoration of law, there is no chance of moving forward," Mtetwa told the Mail & Guardian in an interview.

A day after her own release on bail, Mtetwa turned up at the Harare Magistrate's court last week to represent the 29. "The magistrate was suprised that I was in court. I spent a week in prison doing nothing, so I had every reason to return to work."

Mtetwa remains critical of the praise accorded to the referendum and its unanimous endorsement by Mugabe's Zanu-PF and the two MDC formations.

"The people did not understand the contents of the draft Constitution, so who will hold the leadership accountable? The hype created around the draft Constitution was meant to hoodwink the voters and was a self-serving manoeuvre for the politicians to hold the elections that they so dearly want," said Mtetwa.

With a fresh round of elections looming, Mtetwa said the camaraderie between Mugabe and Tsvangirai over the draft Constitution was short-lived and the arch-rivals would soon go their separate ways as soon as the battle lines for the elections were drawn, with an intensified crackdown against human-rights lawyers, independent media and civic society organisations likely to erupt.

"My arrest exposed the lie that change has taken place in the country. We might have had a unity government and have adopted a new Constitution, but no change has taken place."