March 18--Three Mthwakazi Liberation Front (MLF) leaders facing treason charges will languish in jail a little longer after the state on Thursday opposed their bail application.
The application was filed at the High Court this week.
State counsel Martha Cheda submitted the state was opposed to the trio being granted bail because they were facing serious charges which carried the death penalty.
The MLF leaders, John Gazi, Paul Siwela and Charles Thomas, face death or life in jail if convicted.
“It is submitted that there is overwhelming evidence and likelihood of a conviction is very high, and this realisation may induce the applicants to abscond,” Cheda said in the opposing application.
“It is submitted that the seriousness of an offence taken together with other factors is a factor to be considered in deciding whether to grant or refuse bail.”
A judge is expected to make a ruling in the matter after going through the arguments.
The state counsel said the men were likely to pursue their alleged agenda of removing the government through unconstitutional means.
“The applicants may interfere with police investigations and 2nd and 3rd applicants (Gazi and Siwela) have a propensity of committing similar offences. It is further submitted that there is need to assess the strength of the state case where police papers raise a prima facie case, there is need for accused to rebut allegations and show that they should be granted bail,” Cheda submitted.
Matabeleland North provincial magistrate John Masimba last week ruled that the MLF leaders had a case to answer and should be placed on remand.
The leaders had made an application for refusal of remand arguing they did not commit treason and the charges against them were trumped up.
In the bail application submitted on Monday, the trio through their lawyers, Advocate Lucas Nkomo instructed by Sindiso Mazibisa assisted by Robert Ndlovu and Matshobana Ncube, said they would apply for bail pending trial and were worthy candidates for bail.
They said they were optimistic they would be found not guilty and acquitted of the charge of treason at trial and offered to pay $500 as bail.
Allegations against the three are that on March 1, they convened an executive meeting in Bulawayo where they agreed to topple the government along the same lines as the Egyptian and Tunisian uprisings.
They had not been formally charged with treason and were remanded in custody to March 25.
However, their defence team has hinted they might apply for a review of the proceedings and ruling by Masimba.
The MLF leaders have been languishing in remand prison for the past week.
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) director Irene Petraz yesterday denied that her organisation had refused to represent the MLF leaders leading to several prominent lawyers from Bulawayo to withdraw membership from the organisation.
“My comment is that we deny all the allegations and that the works of the ZLHR are there for everyone to see,” she said.
The lawyers have gone on to form their own bodycalled Abammeli Human Rights Lawyers Network.
On Monday, the legal practitioners, who included Advocate Nkomo, Ndlovu, Mazibisa, Phulu and Ncube, met and decided to form the new organisation.
At the meeting, it was resolved the lawyers should immediately withdraw their membership from ZLHR.
Abammeli reportedly has a membership of 40 lawyers.
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