Harare Magistrate Barbra Mateko on Thursday 7 October 2021 set free two Harare residents who had been on trial on charges of disorderly conduct for allegedly chanting a slogan while attending a court session for pro-democracy campaigner Makomborero Haruzivishe in April 2021.

The two Harare residents Ngonidzashe Mupfumba and Kudakwashe Butao, who were out of prison custody on bail, had been on trial after they were arrested on 6 April 2021 and charged with disorderly conduct as defined in section 41(a) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.

During trial, prosecutors alleged that Mupfumba and Butao, who were represented by Gift Mtisi of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, engaged in disorderly conduct by chanting a slogan “Ahoi Macomrades, Ahoi” outside Harare Magistrates Court after attending a court session for Haruzivishe and where some police officers were attempting to disperse people.

But Magistrate Mateko on Thursday 7 October 2021 discharged Mupfumba and Butao at the close of the prosecution case and ruled that State witnesses contradicted each other glaringly in their testimonies during trial and failed to corroborate each other’s evidence.

-ZLHR