Arrested War veterans appear in court, further remanded in custody

About 40 veterans of Zimbabwe’s liberation war have appeared before Harare Magistrate Benjamin Maketo for initial remand proceedings.

They were ferried to court in a bus from various police stations, their lawyers from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) who
have been waiting since morning have said.

They were arrested for protesting demanding better pensions.

Meanwhile, their lawyers told the Magistrate that war veterans have complaints against police officers who arrested them, saying they were unlawfully & arbitrarily arrested.

Lawyers say war veterans were over detained in police custody beyond 48 hrs before being brought to court.

Apparently, veterans of Zimbabwe’s liberation war will spend the night detained in remand prison after Magistrate Mateko postponed her ruling on their complaints of over detention & police failure to notify them of the reason for arrest.

Once again there was massive deployment of police officers outside Harare Magistrates Courthouse & inside the courthouse as war veterans appeared in court.

Zwnews