SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe
THE trial of prominent human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa, who is facing charges of ‘obstructing or defeating the course of justice’, resumed in Harare on Monday. Mtetwa was arrested in Harare in early March this year after she asked to see the search warrant of police officers who were conducting what she called an ‘unlawful, unconstitutional, illegal and undemocratic’ search of the home of her client, Thabani Mpofu, an aide to the MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai. When Mtetwa arrived at Mpofu’s home police were already conducting the search. She was handcuffed and taken to Harare Central police station. Despite a High Court order for her release, she was held in custody for eight nights and was allegedly ill-treated and denied access to her family. The state has lined up nine witnesses. The second witness, detective assistant Inspector Wilfred Chibage, testified before Harare Magistrate Rumbidzai Mugwagwa. The trial continues on Tuesday.↧