Trial Day 1, 6 March 2023, Bindura 

Yesterday we were back at Bindura Magistrates Court in solidarity with Sandra Zenda and Kudakwashe Munemo, our staff members, for the commencement of their trial in the matter in which they are jointly charged with convening a meeting without police clearance on 29 June 2022, charges which are clearly defective at law.

However, the state was not ready to proceed with trial, submitting that its alleged witnesses were not available. The two have since been further remanded to the 23rd of March 2023 for continuation of trial.

Meanwhile, our lawyers from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) representing Sandra and Kudakwashe notified the court that they finally managed to get a transcript of the Magistrate’s ruling turning down the application to have the defective charges dismissed and are proceeding to apply for a review of the ruling at the High Court.

The application to have the charges dismissed is premised on the need to avoid contributing towards bad legal precedence at law by conceding to rulings which are not based on the law and constitution of the country.