UPDATED: Harare Mayor, Mafume Granted $30 000 Bail At High Court
Harare mayor Councillor Jacob Mafume was on Tuesday granted ZWL$30 000 bail by High Court Judge Justice Benjamin Chikowero.
Mafume was also ordered not to interfere with witnesses, to surrender his passport and to continue residing at his given residential address as part of his bail conditions.
He had appealed to the High Court after he was denied bail by magistrate Bianca Makwande who said he was likely to interfere with witnesses in the matter.
Mafume was arrested on 25 November 2020 on allegations of illegally parcelling out residential stands to his sister Rotina Mafume and secretary at his law firm Rutendo Muvuti without following due process.
The State alleges that in March this year Mafume called housing director Admore Nhekairo directing him to allocate stands to Rotina and Muvuti.
As a result, Rotina and Muvuti were allocated the stands valued at $219 938 although they were not on the waiting list.
In a statement on its social media channels soon after Mafume was granted bail, the MDC Alliance (MDC-A) demanded an end to what it called the weaponisation of the law against its members. The statement read:
[Harare] Mayor [Jacob] Mafume has been granted bail on appeal by the High Court. We reiterate that his detention and the refusal of bail in the first place were unconstitutional and a clear act of persecution. This weaponization of the law against MDC Alliance members must end.
