Own Correspondent

The United States Embassy in Harare has said Zimbabwe is doing the opposite of what United Nations experts recommended with regards to the handling of the case of three MDC Alliance officials – Joana Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova.

The statement is issued when the court on Monday denied bail for the trio and remanded them in custody to 26 June.

Posting on Twitter, the US Embassy said:

The trio was arrested on the 13th of May 2020 during a flash hunger protest in Warren Park. They allege that they were abducted from police custody and were tortured and sexually assaulted the whole night before being dumped in Bindura.

The state rearrested them and charged them with violating COVID-19 regulations which had banned social gatherings.

The trio was also charged with “lying” about that they had been abducted by suspected state security agents.

The state claims that the alleged abduction was staged merely to spoil the President Mnangagwa led administration, yet, there is no explanation as to how the trio ‘escaped’ from police custody to be found in Bindura.