Friday, 20th November 2009
Howzit
Foreign currency mid-rates updated...
PACHEDU (Roy Bennett)
Racist taunts from Chinamasa
Made Roy Bennett cross the line
Minor scuffle led to trauma
Jail was worse than any fine
Babe knew naught of lost Estate
Nor how much Heather was harried
Brutalized by greed and hate
Suffering subhuman woes
Lice enjoy incarceration
With its excremental clothes
Branded with new trumped-up charge
Treason in false weapon stockpile
One more travesty writ large
Brought him back with hopeful heart
But denied his new position
Prosecutors made fresh start
They made mockery of law
Tomana robed in absurdness
Ought to shamefully withdraw
Or eventual amnesty
To prop up their crumbling pretence
That
Lend support through thick or thin
Justice can emerge victorious
Evil forces must not win
"Lawyers for senior MDC official Roy Bennett on Thursday accused Zimbabwe police of parading in court weapons not related to his terrorism trial in a bid to whip up public sentiment against him.
Bennett, an ally of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, was arrested in February and charged with possessing weapons for purposes of terrorism, insurgency and banditry, charges which carry a potential death sentence upon conviction.
The case has raised tensions in a fragile unity government formed by President Robert Mugabe and Tsvangirai, whose Movement for Democratic Change says the trial is political persecution.
On Thursday, defence lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa said police had brought to court licensed weapons belonging to Peter Hitschmann, who prosecutors say implicated Bennett when the registered arms dealer was arrested for possessing dangerous weapons in 2006.
Think of it. Whenever the court convenes, the officers of the court make a big thing of carting the weapons into court - just to give the sitting judge an idea of the seriousness of the case - but now we discover that the weapons do not have anything to do with this case, but were used in the case against Hitschmann, the man who's 'confession' implicated Bennett.
In any decent, law-abiding country this sort of activity would not be allowed, but even though the defence has indicated that the weapons have nothing to do with this case, the initial impression given will be hard to cancel out.
But the defence lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, has done a good job in teaching the Attorney-General just how tough court cases can be. I read on Denford Magora's blog that the AG was nonplussed at a ruling made by the judge and actually stated that he didn't expect the ruling - a thought perhaps that the case has a pre-written script?
"Mtetwa said police in Bennett's case had added several other guns, anti-riot grenades, stun grenades and thousands of rounds of ammunition, whose origins could not be established and were never produced in the trial of Hitschmann, an accomplice witness in Bennett's trial.
Bennett is accused of paying for weapons found in Hitschmann's possession.
"This is part of a police publicity stunt to whip up public sentiment and misrepresent facts to this court," said Mtetwa.
Mtetwa also accused police of failing to document weapons found in Hitschmann's possession and that they were stored at an army barracks, making it possible that more weapons could have been added to strengthen the state's case.
And on the same blog by Denford Magora, there was an article which suggested that ZANU PF has a stockpile of weapons dating back to the chimurenga which they use to arm their brigands - and could quite easily have been used for other purposes, like being used as 'exhibits'...
"Hitschmann says he was tortured into implicating Bennett. He later recanted his confession in the presence of his lawyer.
Hitschmann, who was a policemen during white minority rule when
Mtetwa said Hitschmann had been tortured while in the custody of central intelligence operatives and the army.
State witness Sipho Makone, a senior police officer, denied the torture charges. The trial continues."
"
Defence lawyers Thursday demanded a police log book and 'recorded' laptop email evidence linking arms dealer Michael Hitschmann be produced. Attorney General, Johannes Tomana began saying that the logs were confidential and that the defence could only obtain them after a successful court application, which usually takes weeks to be approved. Tomana also defended his position saying that production of the log in court 'would jeopardise State security.'
When called forward, the police officer in charge Chief Supt Makone also began to say that the State was ‘relying on other information’ apart from Hitschmann’s affidavit."
The only 'State security' that would be under threat would be their ability to tell the truth and their reluctance to follow due process...
"There is a video clip showing Hitschmann confessing freely without any pressure."
"The e-mails are another form of evidence linking the accused to the offence," Makone said.
However, Hitschmann’s confession has been challenged on credibility grounds as Hitschmann has recently said that he confessed while under duress. Hitschmann was convicted and jailed for illegally possessing firearms and is a key prosecution witness. But Chief Supt Makone continued claiming that Hitschmann was never subjected to torture."
Obviously, with anything electronic, these days it is easy to show falsehoods from a computer - but the sentence that caught my attention was: "The State under Attorney General, Tomana claims that ‘e-mail messages’ implicating Bennett were downloaded from Hitschmann’s laptop." If the emails were 'downloaded' then they are open to abuse and can be rewritten.
But the defence knows of these emails as it is a requirement of law that the State gives their case in writing to the defence prior to the court case. Mtetwa knows what she is doing...
"Robert Mugabe once threatened that he would rule
I am 46 years of age - and in
And yet the Registrar-General, Tobiwa Mudede, would have us all believe the information in the current voters’ roll in
I would hazard a guess that my name is still on that roll, even though I never registered as a voter and my first vote ever was here in the
Read more...
"
Tichaona Kamikani (31) and his co-accused Martin Chinomona pleaded guilty to possession of firearm ammunition without a licence or permit when they appeared before
The duo was sentenced to 24 months imprisonment but four months were conditionally suspended.
The court heard that between November 13 to 15 this year Kamikani, a senior security officer in the President’s Office and stationed in Tsholotsho, had 30 rounds of 7,62 by 39mm live firearm ammunition that he gave to Chinomona.
On November 15 this year, detectives from CID Law and Order Section Harare received information that Chinomona was in possession of firearm ammunition that he was offering for sale.
The detectives approached him purporting to be buyers of firearm ammunition."
It is interesting that the accused was a 'senior security officer from the President's Office' - I thought that Mugabe looked after jis own. Perhaps not as one of his security detail is so hard up for cash that he is attempting to sell the ammunition from his weapons!
And when you look at the price he was asking for each round, it borders on the ridiculous - and he has 20 months to think about his actions...
"The detectives subsequently arrested him when he returned with the 30 rounds that he was selling at US$10 each."
"In a dramatic event at Great Zimbabwe University this afternoon, seven student were arrest for possession of a gun in their room.
The students had gathered in Blessing Dubi’s room, one of the aspiring ZINASU National Executive Member candidate to try and caucus before the scheduled ZINASU National Bi- Annual congress on
The students were surprised when 15 college security guards pounced on them accusing them of holding an illegal meeting. The guards started beating them up and the students left the room in a rush.
The students quickly dispersed but to their surprise one hour after the disturbances, three students namely, Blessing Dubi, Robson Ruhanya and Zivanai Muzorodzi (SRC President) were picked up by police citing that they had found a fire arm in Blessing Dubi’s room after searching.
At first, the three students thought the police were joking but were shell shocked when four other students were picked up on similar allegations and were quickly whisked away to Masvingo Central Police Station."
Seven people gathered constitutes an illegal meeting?
I thought that the agreement signed by the three political principals in September last year allowed freedom to gather - but obviously not!
Article 10 of that agreement reads: "Recognising that the right to canvass and freely mobilise for political support is the cornerstone of any multi-party democratic system, the Parties have agreed that there should be free political activity throughout
"Security guards and the police have been on a rampage of harassing student activists and selected politicians on trumped up charges evidenced by the charges levelled on the Deputy Minister of Agriculture Designate, Hon Roy Bennet who is being charged with possession of fire arms.
These abuses should stop forthwith as it violate on the right to freedom of association and expression."
I recall that when I was working for a car dealership on the Lomagundi Road, my journey home was often delayed because of student unrest at the University of Zimbabwe and many times the unrest deteriorated to running street battles with the police...
Mugabe has shifted his emphasis in oppressing the people of Zimbabwe - and I believe that there will shortly be an attempt by Mugabe and his supporters to cause the unity government to collapse, and thereafter it will be ZANU PF 'business as usual'...
'debvhu























Union Jack (1963 - 64, 1998 - ??)































