ARTUZ's Chere Granted Bail As Masaraure Remains In Jail

Beatrice Mtetwa this Wednesday secured bail for Robson Chere the secretary-general of the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ). 

Meanwhile, Chere’s colleague, Obert Masaraure, the president of ARTUZ, remains at Harare Remand Prison. In a case update seen by Pindula News, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) Harare Magistrate Stanford Mambanje deferred delivery of his bail ruling to Thursday 14 July 2022. Reads the update:

ARTUZ’S CHERE GRANTED BAIL AS MASARAURE REMAINS INCARCERATED

HIGH Court Judge Justice Anne-Lucy Mungwari on Wednesday 13 July 2022 set free Robson Chere, the Secretary-General of Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ), who had been in prison for eight days after he was arrested and charged with murder.

Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officers arrested Chere on 5 July 2022 and charged him with murder as defined in Section 47 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.

In court, prosecutors alleged that on 11 June 2016 Chere together with four unnamed accomplices went on a drinking spree in Harare with Roy Issa, where after a misunderstanding with him they ganged up against him and assaulted him on the head with unknown weapons resulting in his death.

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The prosecutors charged that Chere, who is represented by Beatrice Mtetwa and Doug Coltart of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), concealed the offence by falsely claiming that Isa fell from the balcony of Jameson Hotel resulting in his death.

Issa’s body, prosecutors said, was found lying some six metres away from Jameson Hotel along Park Street in Harare.

On Wednesday 13 July 2022, Justice Mungwari ended the eight-day detention of Chere by granting him bail amounting to ZWL60 000 and ordering him to report once a month at a police station, surrender his passport and to continue residing at his given residential address until his matter is finalised.

Meanwhile, ARTUZ leader Obert Masaraure remains incarcerated at Harare Remand Prison after Harare Magistrate Stanford Mambanje deferred delivery of his bail ruling to Thursday 14 July 2022.

Masaraure, who is represented by Tapiwa Muchineripi of ZLHR, was arrested on Friday 8 July 2022 by ZRP officers and charged with defeating or obstructing the course of justice as defined in Section 184(1)(c) of Criminal Code alternatively incitement to commit public violence as defined in Section 187(1)(a) of Criminal Code as read with Section 36(1)(a) of Criminal Code.

Prosecutors alleged that Masaraure authored a statement which he published on Twitter and on ARTUZ website, which was meant to prejudice his pending trial and that of Chere and to persuade the teachers’ union members and the general public to commit public violence.

Earlier on, Masaraure, who is also the Spokesperson of Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, had been arrested by ZRP officers on 14 June 2022 and charged with murder as defined in Section 47 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act. He was accused of teaming up with some unnamed accomplices to kill Issa on 11 June 2016. He was granted bail amounting to ZWL60 000 by High Court Judge Justice Munamato Mutevedzi.

Pindula News