Detained freelance journalist, Hopewell Chin’ono’s bail appeal which was due to be heard on Wednesday has been postponed to Thursday, his lawyers said.
Chin’ono, whose house in Chisipite, Harare was broken into by police with a glass panel shattered by officers who “arrested” him last week and was charged with inciting public violence, filed an appeal for bail at the High Court on Monday after being denied freedom by Harare magistrate Ngoni Nduna.
Nduna remanded the award-winning filmmaker in custody to August 7 this year, citing that he was a danger to the public and would violate the law if released.
Chin’ono’s legal representatives, the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) tweeted:
False start to bail hearing of Hopewell Chin’ono as the record of proceedings from magistrate’s court has not been brought to High Court.
Posting on Twitter, political analyst Pedzisai Ruhanya accused the country’s justice system of deliberately using delaying tactics to deny Chin’ono hos freedom bid. He said:
The bail appeal hearing for Hopewell has been postponed to tomorrow because the record from the Magistrate Court hasn’t been sent to the High Court. The judge hasn’t seen it. That’s Zimbabwe’s justice system, delaying tactics from the state!
The State alleges that Chin’ono used social media to incite the public to engage in street protests on July 31, under the guise of fighting top-level corruption.