Prominent investigative journalist Hopewell Chin’ono has taken a swipe at President Emmerson Mnangagwa for reportedly using the Anti-Corruption court to try his critics on allegations that has nothing to do with corruption at all.
Chin’ono’s sentiments came after a High Court judge had granted an application by renowned novelist, playwright, and filmmaker Tsitsi Dangarembga challenging her trial for breaching Covid-19 regulations in the Anti-Corruption Court.
Justice Webster Chinamhora quashed the charge on Thursday, ruling that it had nothing to do with corruption.
Meanwhile, Chin’ono says this court is an illegal tool sheltered inMnangagwa’s office to persecute critics.
“The anti-corruption court is an illegal tool used by Mnangagwa to persecute journalists, activists and opposition members.
“It stems from the illegal Special Anti-Corruption Unit (SACU) run by his nephew Tabani Vusa Mpofu from Mnangagwa’s office,” says Chin’ono.
Dangarembga and her co-accused Julie Gabriel Barnes were arrested on July 31 last year for allegedly breaching Covid-19 protocols and inciting public violence after staging a protest in Harare.
However, following regular remand, their case was transferred to the anti-corruption division without explanation, this led them to lodge a challenge in the High Court.
They complained: “For some unexplained reasons, on September 24, 2020 court officials working in cahoots with prosecutors, transferred the main matter of the State versus Tsitsi Dangarembga and another from the ordinary courts to the widely dreaded Anti-Corruption Court.
Through their legal team, they objected to the placement of our simple protest case in an Anti-Corruption Court when we had not committed any act of corruption whatsoever.
-Zwnews
