Jukwa: Cops want to visit Google in US

via Jukwa: Cops want to visit Google in US 01 September 2014

SUNDAY Mail editor, Edmund Kudzayi, and his brother Phillip, who are facing terrorism charges over a shadowy Facebook page, on Monday applied to the courts to be removed from remand.

The two are being accused of running the Baba Jukwa Facebook page in an attempt to unseat a constitutionally elected government.

The duo’s legal counsel, Admire Rubaya, filed the application before Magistrate Milton Serima on Monday. Ruling on the application is expected on Tuesday.

In their application, the brothers are arguing that the state is playing “truant” with the courts depriving them of their liberty.

“It is my humble submission that the accused persons be removed from remand. It is very unreasonable for the accused persons to be kept on remand without any progress being done; justice delayed is justice denied,” Rubaya argued.

For the state, prosecutor Sharon Mashavira asked for the court’s indulgence arguing the state needed more time for investigations before setting up a trial date.

“There is a team that is going to leave the country for the US particularly for Google and Facebook, for purposes of extra-territorial investigations,” Mashavira told the magistrate.

“It has been barely two months since the accused persons have been on remand, contrary to the rule of practice that says the accused must have been on remand for a reasonable time (prior to trial).”

“The liberty of the accused persons cannot be trampled on basing on the rule of practice. We are not sure if ever the state will go to the US; it’s not a secret that relations between Zimbabwe and the US are next to zero.”

“Being on remand is no stroll in the park, therefore Your Worship, two months is a very long time and there is no justification given by the State that the accused persons should not stand trial.”

The Kudzayi brothers are facing charges of plotting insurgency, banditry, sabotage and terrorism against President Robert Mugabe’s government in the run-up to last year’s elections.

The state has charged the Kudzayi brothers with hatching a plan to unseat the government unconstitutionally. The brothers are accused of mobilising Zimbabweans to rise against the government.

The Baba Jukwa character was a pain in the neck for Mugabe’s Zanu PF by revealing insider information about what was happening within the party in the run-up to the election.

It also dropped nuggets of information about Zanu PF central committee and politburo meetings that captivated Zimbabweans ahead of the election controversially won by Mugabe.

Meanwhile, Edmund Kudzayi will stand trial on September 15 on a lesser charge of flouting the Firearms Act. The state says Edmund failed to store his ammunition properly thereby breaching the law.

Police detectives found 13 rounds of unsecured ammunition at his residence sometime in June this year, while part of the ammunition was recovered at his office.