By Wezhira Munya
See attached letter from Masvingo Registrar of High Court demanding Magistrate Court records
President Nelson Chamisa’s Mwenezi district organizer Tineyi Mapepa, who has been facing charges of inciting violence, was on July 16, 2024, sentenced to 36 months behind bars by Mwenezi Magistrate Conceptor Ngwerume after a full trial.
On July 22, 2024, Thabiso Phiri, the High Court Registrar in Masvingo, Zimbabwe, wrote a letter to Tineyi Mapepa and the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum lawyers demanding records of Magistrate Court proceedings. In this letter, Phiri requested that they provide the High Court with the records of proceedings from the Mwenezi Magistrate Court urgently.
This letter came just one week after Mapepa, an opposition leader in Mwenezi, was found guilty in the Mwenezi Magistrate Court. The delay by Mwenezi Magistrate Court in releasing the court proceedings documents is seen by many as a tactic to delay Mapepa’s appeal against the Magistrate’s judgment.
In the letter, High Court Registrar Phiri acknowledged receipt of Mapepa’s appeal against the Magistrate’s judgment, which was filed on July 22, 2024. Phiri then demanded that the records of documents from the Magistrate Court should be in her office within 20 days, as per the High Court Rule 100(1) from 2021.
The behavior of Magistrate Court has raised concerns among human rights organizations and Mapepa’s supporters, who view it as an attempt to hinder the appeal process and potentially prolong the punishment of the pro-Chamisa’s lieutenant.
Senator Vongai Tome responsible for Welfare of pro-Chamisa members has expressed her dismay at the apparent delay tactics used by the Magistrate Court. She has vowed to closely monitor the situation and ensure that Mapepa’s right to a fair and timely appeal process is upheld.
Experts in the legal field such as top human rights lawyer and Masvingo Urban member of parliament honourable Martin Mureri have also weighed in, stating that the Mwenezi Magistrate Court actions may be in violation of the principles of natural justice and could set a dangerous precedent for the rule of law in the country.
As the case continues to unfold, the international community and human rights organizations will be closely watching the developments in Mwenezi, hoping that the Zimbabwean judiciary will uphold its duty to provide a fair and transparent judicial process for all citizens, regardless of their political affiliations.
Mapepa’s wife today, send a desperate message requesting honourable Mureri and other lawyers to assist her husband get the court records of proceedings that her husband’s bail appeal can be heard.
Mapepa (46) of village 4 Muzhanjire Ranch in Mwenezi District was charged with incitement as defined in Section 187(1) of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act Chapter 9:23. He was represented by Noble Chinhanu of the Jiti Law Chambers under the Zimbabwe NGO Forum and had pleaded not guilty to the charges, but was found guilty after a full trial.
Ngwerume sentenced Mapepa to 36 months behind bars, of which 16 months were conditionally suspended, leaving him to serve an effective 20 months in prison.
The state’s case, as presented by Prosecutor Leyton Katsidzira, alleged that on July 23, 2023, while at Rutenga Business Centre in Mwenezi at around 1415 hours, Mapepa convened a meeting on behalf of the President Chamisa at the business center. The meeting was sanctioned by the police to start at 1400 hours and end at 1600 hours.
The state argued that since Mapepa was one of the pro-Chamisa leaders, at 1600 hours, he was asked by police officers to disperse the crowd, but the accused reportedly refused, and instead started telling people not to disperse. The crowd remained until 1700 hours when a convoy of President Chamisa arrived at Rutenga Growth Point for a presidential rally campaign towards the 2023 harmonized elections.
The state further argued that police officers approached Mapepa and his crowd to try and disperse them, but he and other members pelted them with stones, threatening to assault them. The officers later managed to disperse the crowd.
Mapepa was then subpoenaed by the police to attend court months after the incident, subsequently leading to his arrest, trial, and conviction for incitement.
The pro-Chamisa Masvingo West former member of parliament honourable Tichaona Chiminya commented that, he disappointment with the court’s failure to provide the necessary court records and urged the Magistrate Court to immediately give Mapepa’s lawyers Court records.
Mapepa’s case has also sparked a wider debate about the treatment of opposition supporters and the use of the judicial system to target them. Critics have accused the Zanu PF led government is using the courts to silence dissent and crackdown on political opposition, a charge the government has denied.
Mr Struggle Desire Nyahunda, a Pro-Chamisa lieutenant expressed that, overall, the Mwenezi Magistrate Court’s failure to issue the court records in the Mapepa case has raised concerns about the transparency and fairness of the judicial process, and has highlighted the ongoing tensions between the Zanu PF led government and the political opposition in Zimbabwe.
