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Prosper Dembedza
Herald Correspondent
The trial of 78 Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) activists failed to start yesterday after their lawyers demanded a report on the abuse that they were allegedly subjected to when they were arrested.The 78 activists are facing allegations of participating in an unlawful gathering and disorderly conduct.During the previous sitting, the State was ordered to conduct investigations into the alleged abuse.
The lawyers told the court that the State was in contempt of court as they did not comply with the order issued during the previous sitting, adding that trial had to be stopped until the report is submitted.
However, the State, represented by Mr Lancelot Mutsokoti, challenged the submission arguing that the defence failed to give a statute that guides its application.Magistrate Mrs Colleta Ncube dismissed the lawyers’ application and said the absence of the report should not stop the commencement of the trial.
Mrs Ncube ruled that in as much as the State is supposed to comply with the order, the lawyers had failed to prove how the unavailability of the report would affect the commencement of trial.
The State said all the accused were arrested at a gathering in Avondale as they were planning to stage unlawful demonstrations in Harare.When the police arrived, the accused persons allegedly threw stones at their vehicle. Two police officers were injured in the process.
The accused only stopped after the police threw some teargas.
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