Magistrate Refuses To Release Joanah Mamombe's Passport
Harare magistrate Stanford Mambanje has dismissed an application by Joanah Mamombe to have her passport released to allow her to travel to Kenya for a democracy conference.
Mamombe is the member of parliament for the Harare West constituency (MDC Alliance).
She is facing charges of faking her own alleged abduction.
Mamombe is charged alongside Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova who has since skipped the border.
In his ruling, Mambanje said:
Bail is a means of procuring the release of a prisoner from legal custody upon posting sufficient security, for his (/her) appearance at a time and place designated, to answer to a criminal charge.
If the court is then to willy-nilly uplift such caveats, then the whole purpose of recognisance is put to naught.
In casu, the applicant is well aware of her limitations.
Regardless, she proceeds to embark on extraterritorial fellowship applications.
She made an application to be invited, I have no doubts that there are plenty of these and her decision to go on board such tertiary fellowships is more of a frolicsome attempt.
She ought to have waited for the case to complete, secure her full freedoms then start on these at a suitable time.
Mamombe, through her lawyer, Jeremiah Bhamu, said she was not seeking to travel for leisure.
Deputy Prosecutor General Micheal Reza opposed the application arguing that Mamombe was not part of the key figures for the conference, therefore, her absence would not affect the conference programme.
In May 2020, Mamombe, Chimbiri and Marova were arrested and charged with violating COVID-19 lockdown regulations after they organised a demonstration in Warren Park, Harare against food shortages.
They were allegedly abducted, tortured, and sexually assaulted by state security agents while in police custody.
However, the government denied the allegations, and instead, arrested them for faking abduction.
More: Pindula News
