SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe
The trial of the director of Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, Abel Chikomo, finally started Wednesday. Lawyer Selby Hwacha confirmed to SW Radio Africa that Chikomo’s trial started at the Harare Magistrate Courts after four previous false starts. Chikomo pleaded not guilty. The case has gone on since February 2011. At one stage the state had even withdrawn the case against Chikomo. Chikomo is facing charges of conducting a survey on transitional justice without registration, as required by the law. It is also alleged that Chikomo instructed two of his subordinates to ‘unlawfully’ sourced people’s recommendations on what kind of transitional justice they would like to see in Zimbabwe. The trial is set to resume next Tuesday after Magistrate Elijah Makomo adjourned it to allow prosecutors to call in witnesses. The case is largely seen as another instance of judicial harassment of civil rights defenders.