G40 bigwig Walter Mzembi is fighting to get his passport back as he wants to travel abroad. He appeared in court yesterday and pleaded with...
G40 bigwig Walter Mzembi is fighting to get his passport back as he
wants to travel abroad. He appeared in court yesterday and pleaded with the
magistrate but the State opposed the application for the release of the
passport, saying Mzembi was a flight risk.
“Your Worship, the State has initially consented to the
relaxation of the bail conditions of the accused and the release of his
passport because certain information of a criminal nature had not been brought
to the authorities,” he said.
“Now, certain information has since been brought to light
which link the accused to a substantial amount of money. The State official who
made the consent earlier was not aware of the information. The evidence is of
the nature that if the accused is granted his passport he will evade and not
stand trial.
Through his lawyer, Mr Job Sikhala, Mzembi argued that the
alleged criminal information was not before the court.
Sikhala said Mzembi had never attempted to flee the
country. The applicant has been subject of unfair media coverage, with some
headlines brutal that the applicant could have decided to run away, but he
never moved an inch,” he said. “He remained at his home.
“Even during the time when the military carried the Operation
Restore Legacy on November 15, he did not run away. There is no evidence to him
being a flight risk. It is, therefore, the duty of the court to protect every
citizen.”
Harare magistrate Ms Rumbidzai Mugwagwa will make a ruling
on February 16.
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