BY TREVOR MUTSVAIRO
ALPHA Media Holdings (AMH) journalists Blessed Mhlanga and Chengeto Chidi had their case of violating the Electoral Act postponed to June 13 after the presiding magistrate failed to turn up yesterday.
The journalists are represented by Jeremiah Bamhu and Tapiwa Muchineripi.
In their initial appearance, Mhlanga complained that one detective, Matsika, assaulted him and smashed his mobile phone.
Mhlanga and Chidi are accused of taking videos inside a polling station without authority from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec).
They are accused of contravening section 25(a) of the Electoral Act as read with section 30 of Statutory Instrument 21/2005 which prohibits taking of photographs at a polling station.
Allegations are that on May 6 at the corner of Hombarume and Dahuna roads in Zengeza 1, one or both of them, acting in common purpose, used a Samsung A512 cellphone and a camera to take photographs and recorded a video near ward 7 polling station tent B in Zengeza West without Zec’s permission.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in Chinhoyi, Studio 7 journalist Nunurai Jena was yesterday acquitted on charges of disorderly conduct.
Jena was arrested in 2020 for taking video images of a police roadblock in Chinhoyi during a national lockdown to combat the spread of COVID-19.
Jena was being accused of breaching section 41 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act which deals with disorderly conduct in public
places.
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