Zimbabwe: Jailed opposition official granted bail

By Jeffrey Moyo

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AA) – The jailed spokeswoman for a Zimbabwean opposition party was granted bail Monday after spending a week behind bars in the country’s notorious Chikurubhi maximum prison.

Fadzai Mahere, spokeswoman for the Movement for Democratic Change Alliancem, was accused of falsehood in a case involving a claim of police brutality during lockdown earlier this month in the capital Harare.

Handing down the $10,000 bail ruling for Mahere, Harare magistrate Trynos Utahwashe ordered that she must not interfere with the case of Rebecca Musariri, the mother of a baby inaccurately said to have been beaten by the police.

The magistrate also said prosecutors failed to prove that Mahere’s offence was too serious to warrant her freedom.

According to the magistrate, no grounds were given by the prosecutors proving that she would abscond if granted bail.

The Zimbabwean government has of late arrested many opposition politicians and journalists, accusing them of fanning discontent in the landlocked southern African country.