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The lawyers representing the 29 MDC members facing false charges of murdering a police officer in Glen View, Harare in May last year, have written to the trial judge, Justice Chinembiri Bhunu to give their clients a trial date. The 29 MDC members have been in remand prison since February when they were indicted for trial. Others have been in remand prison for nearly a year since their arrest in May last year.

However, the trial failed to kick-off then as the lawyers had not finished drafting the accused defence outlines. This month, Justice Bhunu denied the accused leave to appeal for bail at the Supreme Court claiming that their appeals had no merits. Their lawyers have also completed the defence outlines and have submitted the papers to the High Court.

In their letter to Justice Bhunu, the lawyers are pushing for a trial date and on that date they will make a fresh application for bail.

There are serious concerns that the accused are living in inhumane conditions with two of the female inmates, Rebecca Masvikeni and Yvonne Musarurwa staying in solitary confinement in the male section at Chikurubi Maximum Prison.

It is also worrying that the 29 are being denied bail while seven police officers who were involved in the murder of Luxmore Chivambo in Shamva earlier this year have already been granted bail by the same courts upon first reading. Nearly 12 months after the Glen View incident, no evidence linking the 29 activists to the murder has been presented in court.

On several occasions, the High Court did not sit as either the prosecutor was attending a funeral, or was sick or was not ready to argue his case. The judge also had his moment when he could not come to court as he was “not feeling well” or was attending to some “other business”. Now he has reserved judgement “indefinitely”.

Read more: MDC activists seek trial date