Thread by @APAZimbabwe

"#PressStatement📢 on the State's unjust treatment of Hopewell Chin’ono & Jacob Ngarivhume"
- APA Secretary General @AlbertGumbo

👇🏾A Thread

cc
@SADC_News
@_AfricanUnion
#Zimbabwe

1. The Alliance for People’s Agenda is deeply concerned by the manner in which Hopewell Chin’ono and Jacob Ngarivhume are being unjustly treated by the government. We note particularly how justice is being denied and delayed in their court cases.
@SADC_News
#Zimbabwe

2. The two are entitled to the same constitutional rights afforded to the accused person in terms of Section 70 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe. We refer to the decision by the Magistrate Court disqualifying Hopewell Chin’ono’s lawyer. #Zimbabwe

3. It is patently a violation of Section 70 (1) (d) of the Constitution which entitles the accused person the right to choose a legal practitioner of their choice.

Further, the repetitive denial of bail for the two is not only appalling but unjustified. #Zimbabwe

4. In our view, it is an attack on the accused’s right to liberty, to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
This constitutes undesirable pretrial incarceration. As the Alliance for People’s Agenda, we strenuously object to any infringement of the Constitution of #Zimbabwe.

5. As a non-negotiable core value, we believe that justice is simply equality before the law. Hopewell Chin’ono and Jacob Ngarivhume are entitled to the same. #Zimbabwe

6. In comparison, the former Minister Obadiah Moyo’s case showcases a glaring discrepancy in the handling of criminal cases by the courts. Mr Obadiah Moyo is being charged for corruption involving USD60 million and was fired by the President as a Minister. #Zimbabwe

7. However, not only was he was released on bail, he was also treated with decorum and dignity while Mr Chin’ono and Mr Ngarivhume must contend to leg irons and malfunctioning handcuffs. Interestingly Mr Obadiah Moyo’s bail was not opposed by the state prosecutors. #Zimbabwe

8. Such discrepancy, in our view, constitutes a selective application of justice. More so, it goes against the spirit of the constitution which provides for equality before the law. #Zimbabwe

9. We nevertheless note with appreciation, the support by various human rights and legal organisations to the two accused as well as their legal representative Beatrice Mtetwa. #Zimbabwe

10. The Alliance for the People’s Agenda calls upon the Southern African Development Community (@SADC_News) to add its moral & political weight to the chorus of voices that are appalled by the conduct of the Zimbabwean government in its selective application of justice.

ENDS