admin
offence of planning to commit acts of violence with a view to removing or questioning the authority of the Government was a very serious crime.
“A deterrent sentence is one which is appropriate in the present matter. If not custodial, the court will be sending a wrong message to the world that in Zimbabwe you can revolt against the ruling Government and get away with it. Therefore the court should impose a long term, which is stipulated and we pray for that sentence which is 10 years,” he said.
Mr Nyazamba said anyone who undermines the authority of the Government should be severely punished.
He gave an example of what happened before civilisation saying during that time a person who committed a similar offence would be stoned to death without even going to trial.
Mr Nyazamba gave Biblical references whereby some Israelites in Numbers 16, questioned the power of Moses who then asked God to deal with them and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them.
He also quoted Romans 13, which says, “Everyone must obey the State authorities because no authority exists without God’s permission and the existing authorities have been put there by God and anyone who ever opposes the existing authority opposes what God has ordered.”
In mitigation, the six’s lawyer, Mr Alec Muchadehama, said he was considering making an appeal against conviction at the higher court arguing that the six never committed the crime.
He urged the court to consider a fine in the region of US$500, arguing that there was no good reason why the six should be sent to prison.
Mr Muchadehama said the six had suffered enough because they were assaulted, tortured and over detained when they were arrested by the police.
“In passing sentence, the court should consider that all the six accused persons were brutally assaulted by the police and that is punishment on its own. Although the court has found them guilty, there is no indication that the offence was pre-planned for the video was never part of the agenda.
“This was just conspiracy nothing really happened, no public violence and nothing resembled the Egyptian revolts,” he said.
Mr Muchadehama said the six could not be punished for something which never took place.
He also argued that there was no reason to impose a custodial sentence considering that they had nothing to learn from prison since they once stayed there for a long time awaiting bail.
Mr Muchadehama further said that the second accused, Choto had three brain surgeries to remove cyst in her brains and was also asthmatic and if sent to prison, her condition would deteriorate considering that prison cells are overcrowded and the floors dusty.
He produced medical affidavits to support his claims, but the prosecution questioned the authenticity of the doctor’s reports.
Mr Nyazamba, however, made an application to have the six remanded in custody awaiting sentence fearing they could abscond.
However, the magistrate Mr Kudakwashe Jarabini told the State that they should have made the application when he convicted them on Monday.
The offence was committed on February 19 last year at Zimbabwe Labour Centre, at Number 43 Julius Nyerere Way in Harare.
Gwisai, a co-ordinator of the International Socialist Organisation and his accomplices agreed to forcibly and to a serious extent disturb peace, security or order of the public in Zimbabwe.
They agreed to mobilise the people of Zimbabwe to revolt against the Government and demand the resignation of President Mugabe the same way some Egyptians had done to their former leader, Mr Hosni Mubarak.
Online Reporter