29 June 2009

Abductees Trial Diary 

LAWYERS PETITION HIGH COURT TO REFER ABDUCTEES’ RIGHTS VIOLATIONS TO THE SUPREME COURT FOR DETERMINATION

High Court Judge, Justice Charles Hungwe on Monday 29 June 2009 deferred to Wednesday 01 July 2009 an application for referral of the matter involving seven abductees to the Supreme Court, to allow the State to prepare its opposing papers.

Chris Mutangadura of the Attorney General’s Office asked Justice Hungwe to postpone the matter to enable the State to prepare its papers to oppose an application for referral of the matter to the Supreme Court, which had been filed by defence lawyers.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s replying affidavit and supporting documentation, which includes the advice and opinion he got from the Attorney General’s (AG)'s office in a case in which four freelance journalists namely Stanley Gama, Valentine Maponga, Stanley Kwenda and Jealousy Mawarire successfully challenged the legal status of the Media and Information Commission (MIC) and the unlawful interference by the Ministry of Media, Information and Publicity in accrediting journalists wishing to cover the COMESA Heads of State and Government Summit, which took place recently in Victoria Falls.

Media, Information and Publicty Minister Webster Shamu's opposing affidavit and Tafataona Mahoso, the chairman of the defunct MIC's opposing affidavit.

26 June 2009
HRD’s Watch

HIGH COURT DISMISSES STATE’S APPEAL AS STATE CONCEDES VIOLATION OF MUKOKO’S CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS

FATIMA Maxwell, the Director of Civil Division in the Attorney General (AG)’s Office on Thursday 25 June 2009 conceded that several of Jestina Mukoko’s constitutional rights were violated during the time of her abduction by state security agents from December 03 2008 to 22 December 2008.