HIGH Court Judge Justice Tawanda Chitapi on Friday 20 November 2020 set free Hopewell Chin’ono, a freelance journalist and an anti-corruption campaigner, who had spent 17 days in detention after he was arrested by Zimbabwe Republic Police officers and charged with defeating or obstructing the course of justice.
Source: Judge ends Chin’ono 17-day detention – The Zimbabwean
Chin’ono had spent 17 days detained at Chikurubi Maximum Security
Prison after Harare Magistrate Marehwanazvo Gofa dismissed his bail
application on Thursday 12 November 2020 and ruled that the freelance
journalist had a propensity to commit offences and should remain
incarcerated to stop him from contravening the country’s laws.
But Justice Chitapi on Friday 20 November 2020 ended Chin’ono’s
detention by granting his bail appeal and setting aside Magistrate
Gofa’s ruling.
Justice Chitapi ruled that Chin’ono, who was represented by Beatrice
Mtetwa, Gift Mtisi and Doug Coltart of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human
Rights, should be admitted to bail pending commencement and a
determination of his trial on charges of defeating or obstructing the
course of justice.
The High Court Judge said the conditions of bail imposed on Chin’ono
on 2 September 2020 in a separate case in which he is accused of
inciting people to commit public violence during an anti-government
demonstration held in July, will apply in his current case.
In addition to Chin’ono’s existing bail conditions, Justice Chitapi
ordered the anti-corruption campaigner not to use his Twitter account
@daddyhope or any other platform or account to disseminate messages
which undermine, defeat or obstruct the course of justice explicitly
or implicitly.
COMMENTS
Greats news!!!
What a brave judge.
But does this just indicate that our judiciary are beginning to accept that ED and his criminal crew are about to sneak away from their fast sinking ZANU PF Titanic…and of course leave their willing and obedient fools to the crocodiles.
Please God speed that day.
May be its a positive sign! But one should not be too optimistic with these zanunized institutions & judges. If you check the trends of the judgements on politically motivated cases u may see that often when these judges pass a seemingly fair/reasonable judgement it will be like some sort of prelude to a very unfair judgement against same persons, even on same matter. Right now this seems like a fair judgement, but it’s about bail remember. We should not be surprised that when it comes to real trial then they will nail him even if the guy may be openly innocent.