High Court judge, Justice Garainesu Mawadze will on Thursday preside over the hearing and determination of a bail appeal by Czech citizen, Lucas Slavik, who was arrested for allegedly publishing falsehoods in Masvingo this month.
This was confirmed by the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) this Wednesday. The ZLHR posted on X:
<blockquote>
In Masvingo, we have intensified our efforts to secure freedom for Lukas Slavik and Masvingo High Court Judge Justice Mawadze will on Thursday preside over hearing and determination of our appeal against refusal of bail for the Czech national by a Magistrate last week.
</blockquote>
Slavik was denied bail by Masvingo Provincial Magistrate Franklin Mkwananzi who ruled that there was overwhelming evidence that Slavik committed the offence with which he was charged.
The magistrate said that if he was released, he would likely abscond because of the country’s porous borders.
Prosecutor Tarisai Muvengi also argued that Slavik faces 20 years in jail and that was a serious offence.
The Czech’s charge was altered from spreading falsehoods to publishing a false statement with the intention to incite the public.
Slavik is alleged to have recorded a statement in a video in which he said that there was no water or electricity in Masvingo.
His lawyer told the court that Masvingo was going for days without water and 12 hours without electricity.
The State dropped another charge against Slavik, that is, criminal nuisance.
Slavik reportedly wailed in court after he was denied bail.
He was initially remanded to August 16, 2024, but this was later changed to be the trial date after his lawyer, Knowledge Mabvure protested and the magistrate concurred.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Pindula News

A judge called Justice Mawadze will decide if a Czech man named Lucas Slavik can be released on bail. Slavik was arrested for lying in Masvingo. The court refused to release him before because they think he might run away. The Czech man is in trouble for saying there is no water or electricity in Masvingo in a video. His lawyer says it's true. But, the lawyer also said Slavik was very sad when he couldn't get bail. The trial date has been changed to August 16, 2024, instead of keeping him in jail for so long.

Justice Mawadze To Preside Over Bail Hearing For Czech National

The Czech Republic Deputy Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Michal Nobak will this week visit a citizen of his country who is languishing in a Zimbabwean jail, reported <a href="https://x.com/TheMirrorMsv/status/1822948175461724505">The Mirror</a>.
Nobak confirmed the visit to the publication but declined to comment on the matter. He was quoted as saying:
<blockquote>
I will be there. We wish for the best, otherwise no comment.
</blockquote>
The Czech citizen, Lucas Slavik, who was arrested for allegedly publishing falsehoods in Masvingo this month, was denied bail by a magistrate.
Last week, Masvingo Provincial Magistrate Franklin Mkwananzi ruled that there was overwhelming evidence that Slavik committed the offence with which he was charged.
The magistrate said that if he was released, he would likely abscond because of the country’s porous borders.
Prosecutor Tarisai Muvengi also argued that Slavik faces 20 years in jail and that was a serious offence.
The Czech’s charge was altered from spreading falsehoods to publishing a false statement with the intention to incite the public.
Slavik is alleged to have recorded a statement in a video in which he said that there was no water or electricity in Masvingo.
His lawyer told the court that Masvingo was going for days without water and 12 hours without electricity.
The State dropped another charge against Slavik, that is, criminal nuisance.
Slavik reportedly wailed in court after he was denied bail.
He was initially remanded to August 16, 2024, but this was later changed to be the trial date after his lawyer, Knowledge Mabvure protested and the magistrate concurred.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

A Czech diplomat is going to visit a citizen from the Czech Republic who is in jail in Zimbabwe. The citizen, Lucas Slavik, was arrested for saying false things in a video. The magistrate in Zimbabwe thinks there is proof that Slavik did something wrong. The diplomat is going to visit and hopes for the best. The citizen is upset about being in jail and will have a trial in 2024. The charges against him were changed but he is still not allowed bail. The diplomat wants to check on the citizen and see how he is doing.

Czech Diplomat Set To Visit Citizen Imprisoned In Zimbabwe

A Masvingo magistrate has dismissed bail applications for two foreign tourists charged with publishing falsehoods and possessing a sex toy, respectively, reported <a href="https://masvingomirror.com/magistrate-denies-foreign-tourists-bail/">The Mirror</a>.
Masvingo Provincial Magistrate Franklin Mkwananzi ruled that there was overwhelming evidence that Lucas Slavik from the Czech Republic and Tom Ssekamwa from Uganda committed the offences they were charged with.
The magistrate said that if the two were released, they would likely abscond because of the country’s porous borders.
Prosecutor Tarisai Muvengi also argued that Slavik faces 20 years in jail and that was a serious offence.
The Czech’s charge was altered from spreading falsehoods to publishing a false statement with the intention to incite the public.
Slavik is alleged to have recorded a statement in a video in which he said that there was no water or electricity in Masvingo.
His lawyer told the court that Masvingo was going for days without water and 12 hours without electricity.
The State dropped another charge against Slavik, that is, criminal nuisance.
Slavik reportedly wailed in court after he was denied bail.
Ssekamwa, who was allegedly found with a rubber toy penis, is being charged with violation of the Censorship Act.
The two were initially both remanded to August 16, 2024, but this was later changed to be the trial date after their lawyer, Knowledge Mabvure protested and the magistrate concurred. Said:
<blockquote>
The State has overwhelming evidence against the accused person as they have a video in which he features making utterances which they say is circulating on social media.
The State also has overwhelming evidence against Ssekamwa as the artificial penis was recovered from his bag.
</blockquote>
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Two tourists denied bail in Masvingo for spreading false news and having a sex toy. The magistrate said there was enough evidence and they might run away. The tourists face serious charges: 20 years in jail for one and violation of the Censorship Act for the other. One tourist said there was no water or electricity in Masvingo. The other was found with a rubber toy penis. Their trial date was changed after their lawyer complained. The State has strong evidence against them, like a video and the toy penis found in their bag.

Masvingo Magistrate Denies Foreign Tourists Bail

Two foreign tourists were recently arrested in Masvingo, with one charged for allegedly recording a video “falsely” claiming the existence of ongoing water shortages and power cuts in the country.
According to The Mirror, Lucas Slavik, a Czech Republic national, is charged with spreading falsehoods.
The other tourist, Tom Ssekamwa from Uganda, is charged with possessing pornographic material, specifically a sex toy.
The two tourists were brought before a Masvingo magistrate to face the alleged offences. The courtroom was reportedly packed with some senior police officers and operatives from the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO).
The court heard that Slavik, who was booked at Back Packers Lodge in Masvingo, was disturbed by riotous noise outside.
He went out to investigate and discovered that it was a group of people whose relative was run over by a vehicle.
He started recording a video of the scene also narrating that Zimbabwe is experiencing continued water and electricity shortages.
Slavik is also alleged to have said prices were very high in Zimbabwe because of the tough economic situation.
Police officers who heard his video narration arrested and charged him with spreading falsehoods.
After arresting Slavik, police went to the lodge and found a sex toy in Ssekamwa’s bag and arrested him.
Police allegedly impounded the two’s laptops, cameras, sex toy, passports, cash and bags.
During the court appearance of the two foreign tourists, their lawyer, Knowledge Mabvure of Chihambwakwe Law Chambers, argued that the law regarding the spread of falsehoods had long been struck off Zimbabwe’s statute books.
Interestingly, the irony of the situation was evident, as even within the same court building where his clients were being tried, there were power cuts at the time.
Furthermore, Mabvure told the magistrate that water had been unavailable in Masvingo for several days and that load-shedding lasted up to 12 hours per day in the area.
Magistrate Madzingo remanded the two in custody to this Monday.
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) on Monday said they were focused on securing Slavia’s release. Said ZLHR:
<blockquote>
In Masvingo, our energies are focused on securing the release from detention on bail of Lukas Slavia, a 37-year-old Czech national, who was arrested last week for allegedly publishing or communicating a false statement, after he reportedly recorded a video of some mourners and also stating and lamenting water shortages and electricity in the ancient city. Slavia, who is represented by Knowledge Mabvuure, was also charged with criminal nuisance.
</blockquote>
The Czech Republic Embassy in Zimbabwe was reportedly making some frantic efforts to get their citizen released.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Two tourists were arrested in Masvingo. One was charged for making a video about water and electricity shortages. The other was arrested for having a sex toy. Police took their laptops, cameras, passports, and money. Their lawyer said the law against spreading lies no longer existed in Zimbabwe. It's ironic that the court had power outages. The tourists were put in custody until Monday. The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights were trying to get one of the tourists released. The Czech Republic Embassy was also working to free their citizen.

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