MDC-T activists remanded in custody

for allegedly fatally assaulting Inspector Petros Mutedza of Borrowdale Police.
Madzore and Lovemore Taruvinga Magaya last Friday appeared before Provincial magistrate Mr Munamato Mutevedzi who remanded them in custody to October 19.
They have to apply for bail at the High Court.
Area Prosecutor Mr Jonathan Muro-mbedzi appeared for the State while Mr Gift Mtisi represented the two.
Before the court session MDC-T youths surrounded the police vehicle that brought the two to court and tried to drag Madzore and Magaya out.
Police reinforcements intervened and took the two into the court building.
Police had to disperse the youths who were chanting party slogans and were armed with stones.
A senior official from their party stopped them from using the stones against the police.
Some of the youths found their way into the court room and at one time proceedings had to be adjourned as riot police entered the court to control the troube.
The case was referred from Court 6 to court 13 before proceedings were held in court 18. It is the state case that on May 29, 2011, the accused, who are MDC-T youth members, gathered at Glen View 1 Shopping centre to participate in what they termed “MDC-T- T-shirt Visibility Day”, as a campaigning strategy.
They were about 50 chanting slogans and singing MDC-T songs, the state alleges.
At about noon the group marched on to Glen View 4 Shopping Centre where they had a braai and beer. The MDC-T youths were unlawfully gathered at the shopping centre.
Some police internal security intelligence officers went to the shopping centre where they identified the youth leaders amongst others as Robert Manyengavana and Paul Gorekore.
They advised them to disperse since their gathering was not notified to the regulatory authority in terms of the Public Order and Security Act, the court was told.
They were also told to tell their followers to disperse which they complied with. But they re-gathered at Glen View 3 Shopping Centre.
Information was again received by police that the accused persons were now gathered at Glen View 3 Shopping Centre at Munyarari Nite Club owned by Farai Mugodhi, the former MDC-T Harare Province treasurer. The youths were allegedly still chanting slogans and singing with plain clothes police details monitoring, it is alleged.
The Reaction Group was summoned to disperse the youths. The deceased Inspector Mutedza reacted to the scene leading a team of seven uniformed officers.
On arrival, Inspector Mutedza and his five subordinates alighted from a marked police car and inquired from the other MDC-T youths where the youth leaders were and were told that they were inside Munyarari Nite Club. The police officers approached the youth leaders Robert Manyengavana and Paul Gorekore who are still at large and asked them to disperse peacefully since their gathering was not sanctioned.
At this juncture the youths are alleged to have started shouting “Matatya ngaauraiwe (Lets kill the frogs)” and began throwing stones, empty bottles, steel stool frames and other unnamed missiles at the six uniformed police. The inspector rushed to a parked white Nissan pick-up that he mistook as the marked police vehicle whilst other members of his reaction team ran to their police car that was parked a few metres away.
Insp Mutedza was allegedly hit with a brick on the left side of the head and he fell down.
Some of the group jumped into the Nissan Hardbody and drove away at high speed while the other accused persons removed their MDC-T regalia to hide their identities.
Insp Mutedza was rushed to Harare Central Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
On May 13, 2011, a post mortem report was carried out by Dr Gabriel Abvero who concluded the “cause of death as severe head injury, depressed skull, damaged brain due to assault”.