Timba, 77 others denied bail at High Court

Fidelis Munyoro

Chief Court Reporter

THE High Court has denied CCC party interim leader Jameson Timba and 77 activists bail pending trial on charges of illegal gathering.

Justice Munamato Mutevedzi ruled that there was no misdirection on the part of the remand court’s overall assessment of the issues and its finding that the appellants were not proper candidates for admission to bail.

The judge, however, released Maxwell Sande because of his age.

“That I may have determined the matter differently is a non-issue,” said Justice Mutevedzi.

“What is material is that I did not find any misdirection in the decision of the magistrate’s court.

“The discretion of the trial magistrate, which as demonstrated, she exercised quite judiciously must stand. It disbars me from interfering with her judgment,” he said, allowing the appeal by Sande.

“The decision of the Magistrates Court is accordingly set aside and substituted with the following:

(a) The appellant Maxwell Sande is released into the custody of his father Cecil Sande National Identity No. 49-057521 R 49 who shall ensure that at all materials times the appellant shall abide by the conditions of his attendance at court or any other that may from time to time be set by the court.

(b) The appeal against the refusal to admit appellants one (1)- forty-two (42) and forty-four (44) to seventy-five (75) to bail by the Magistrates’ Court sitting at Harare on June 27, 2024 be and is hereby dismissed in its entirety.”

Timba took over as interim leader of the CCC after former leader Nelson Chamisa quit the party in January.

The legislator and his co-accused were denied bail at the Harare magistrates’ courts following their arrests on June 16 for holding an unsanctioned gathering for the purposes of engaging in an unlawful demonstration in Harare.

They approached the High Court for relief. In turning down the applications for bail, Harare magistrate Ruth Moyo said that their release would undermine the rule of law and jeopardise the safety of the people and confidence in the police.

She then remanded the 78 in custody pending trial.