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Nyore Madzianike

Senior Court Reporter

PROSECUTORS are opposing bail in the case involving MDC-Alliance members Joana Mamombe and Cecelia Chimbiri, who are charged with undermining police authority since they may commit further offences as they are already on bail.

Harare regional magistrate Mr Stanford Mambanje remanded the duo and is today expected to make a ruling on their bail application.

Ms Audrey Chogumaira and Ms Sheilla Mupindu appearing for the State said the latest alleged offence occurred when the two were already remanded on bail for allegedly faking their abductions in May last year and violating national lockdown regulations by staging an illegal demonstration in Harare.

They still face trial on those charges. Mamombe and Chimbiri, through their lawyer Mr Charles Kwaramba, denied insulting the police and said they had been arrested on suspicion that they were participating in an illegal demonstration, which they were not part of.

Mr Kwaramba told the court that Mamombe and Chimbiri were coming from consulting their medical practitioners when police arrested them and were only in town to get food.

He said Chimbiri was believed to be suffering from a cancer-related disease while Mamombe wanted to assess the state of her health.

“The only reason for the arrest is that there was a demonstration in town and police suspected that they were involved. They searched the car for placards for the demo and found nothing,” said Mr Kwaramba.

The court heard that on Monday, Mamombe was driving an unregistered Toyota Fortuner along Kwame Nkrumah Avenue in Harare side-by-side with a police patrol motor vehicle.

It is alleged that the police van was carrying some accused persons and while at the intersection of Kwame Nkrumah Avenue and Sam Nujoma Street, the two motor vehicles were stopped by traffic lights.

The court heard that Mamombe and Chimbiri opened their windows and started shouting at the police officers saying: “Police officers leave those accused persons you have arrested because you will infect them with Covid”. It is alleged that they went on to shout and insult the police officers on duty, leading to their arrest.