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Melvin Jay Reynolds

Fungai Lupande Court Reporter
Former United States Congressman for Chicago Melvin Jay Reynolds, who came into Zimbabwe last year purporting to be a middleman for foreign investors in the tourism industry, appeared in court yesterday on charges of overstaying in the country and possession of pornographic material.

Reynolds was represented by lawyer Mr Arthur Gurira and was not asked to plead.

Mr Gurira told the court that Reynolds was not feeling well.

Harare magistrate Mr Tendai Mahwe ordered that Reynolds be medically examined before postponing the matter to today for his bail application.

Reynolds looked agitated as he waved and murmured at journalists in the courtroom.

He is facing charges of possession of prohibited articles as defined in Section 26(1)(b) of the Censorship and Entertainment Control Act.

Prosecutor Ms Sharon Mashavira told the court that Reynolds had pictures of naked of men and women having sexual intercourse on his iPhone 4s.

Reynolds is also charged with contravening Section 29(1)(a) as read with Section 29(2)(a) of the Immigration Act (Chapter 4:02).

The complainant in the matter is the State represented by the Department of Immigration’s Principal Immigration Officer, Mr Godfrey Kondo.

It is alleged that on November 13 last year Reynolds entered Zimbabwe through Plumtree Border Post on a business visa valid until November 27, 2013.

Reynolds did not extend his stay in the country since December 10 and did not return to the United States at the expiry of his permit.

The court heard that for the period, Reynolds was staying in the country illegally.