Confusion At Court As Judge Throws Out Mugabe's Opposition To Bail For Bennett
An MDC supporter confronts a policeman outside court at the beginning of Roy Bennett's trial. Notice the signage on the building, "All the time, every time".
There was confusion today at the High Court in Harare after the presiding judge threw out the State's application opposing bail for Roy Bennett. The MDC Treasurer-General and Deputy Minister of Agriculture-designate remains in jail as I write this, however.
The reason is that the decision taken by Mugabe together with Tsvangirai and Mutambara yesterday at State House had "not been officially communicated to Attorney-General", Tomana. Which meant the prosecutors hadn't the foggiest.
Upon the judge throwing out the application, the prosecution team looked surprised and shocked, clearly they were expecting more of the same. Immediately afterwards, they were seen at the AG's offices near the High Court, seeking an urgent audience with Tomana in order to get instructions on the way forward.
Just after 6:30 this evening, Tomana was said to be at State House, where Mugabe prefers to work, leaving Munhumutapa Building in the city centre to Morgan Tsvangirai. Munhumutapa Building is the official office of the president and has been so through the days of colonialism and UDI right up to today. But Mugabe abandoned it years ago, when he moved his family to their new home in Helensvale.
His Security insist that State House is safer than Munhumutapa Building. But we digress....
I did tell you yesterday on this very blog that Bennett would be freed today and that plan was borne out by the events at the courts. As of 7:30 this evening (it is now about 10:30p.m. as I write this) Bennett was still in prison and had not been freed.
It remains to be seen what happens next. I really do not believe Mugabe would have neglected to tell the AG about the granting of bail to Bennett. Something is obviously up and we would all be well-advised to smell a rat.
Mugabe knows very well just what it is that's happening here. He is in the thick of it. Tsvangirai should see through all this. Just yesterday, after his meeting with Mugabe at State House, he came back shaking his head, telling aides he was asking himself, "Is that old man really the president of this country?"
Mugabe had told Tsvangirai that he "signs so many papers and I may have signed something to do with Secretaries (Permanent Secretaries". He referred Tsvangirai back to George Charamba and Misheck Sibanda, the Secretary to The President and Cabinet.
Tsvangirai actually believes that these two are the real brains behind the regime of Mugabe. This is all on the say-so of Mugabe, who, when asked why he would sign appointment letters without even bothering to inform Tsvangirai said: "Did I? I don't remember."
Okay, seriously now, can the Prime Minister please stop this now? It really is getting tired. Ha ha, very funny, now for some serious business....Even Tsvangirai's own aides are now complaining that their boss is "getting soft".
Does Tsvangirai honestly buy the nonsense that Mugabe had not given a thought to PermSecs at all and did not even know what he was signing when he put his signature to the letters of appointment?
Can pigs fly?
One thing is certain, Mugabe was complaining about the lack of a government in Zimbabwe for the last few months and was threatening to go it alone as a result. Before even the government was formed, he had ordered the sitting PermSecs to return any government property that they had, in preparation for a batch of new appointees.
Then he swears in Tsvangirai on 11 February, and from then until 02 March completely forgets about PermSecs and absentmindedly signs some thirty-five (35) or so letters of appointment, only to be alerted to what he had done by a press conference held by Tsvangirai?
And this sounds plausible to you?
Whatever they are smoking at Munhumutapa Building, this new government has got to stop it. What they are doing is akin to chicken innocently going out for a walk in the woods with a pair of foxes.
The same applies with Bennett's case. Mugabe knows exactly what is going on. He probably has new demands to make of Morgan Tsvangirai and it should not take us long to see what it is that he wants this time.
If this were not the case, Bennett would have been freed this afternoon.
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I think the prosecution has done the right thing by appealing to the Supreme court. They have a very strong case against the granting of bail in Bennet's case, or as in their argument, that should bail be granted it has to be with very strict conditions, likely surrendering title of an immovable property and a very high amount of payment in cash. But I do not think that the condition to have him report everyday to the Police may be granted, may be three times a week at most.
ReplyDeleteI am of the opinion that Justice Tedius Karwi should not have heard the Prosecution's appeal against a judgement that he had earlier on given. It would have been fair if it was heard by a different judge. Obviously Justice Karwi is likely to defend the judgement he made earlier.This should be a matter for the courts and should not have anything to do with the inclusive gvt.The AG's office should disregard whatever is discussed and agreed at State House or Munhumutapa Offices, and maintain their independence. People who shout democracy, democracy and yet they are the very enemies of democracy, should be shown the way.
I am surprised that Mugabe lets bloggers have the freedom to tell the world the truth. Keep up the good work and stay safe. Mugabe needs to go and be regulated to the dustbin of history.
ReplyDelete@ Casey Brown-Myers,
ReplyDeleteI think you have seen it for yourself that Mugabe is not the all round monster, a lot would like the outside world to believe.In a lot of countries that we know, some well developed such freedom can never be thought of.Attacking the country and President in the way a lot in Zim do, will be a one way ticket to the gallows, jail or disappearance.One can not write as fact things that are false on the face of it, unproven or just malicious.
Thokozile, I guess you are right. The only thing we know about him is from the media and their bias. I do not trust the media here in the states and I guess I should be wary of the International media as well. Thanks for letting the world know what is going on there.
ReplyDelete