The lawyer representing Ubuntu Times’ Zimbabwe correspondent Jeffrey Moyo, 37, says the State is “acting in an unjust way” after it issued an arrest warrant for his client on Thursday, June 24 without a legal basis.
Douglas Coltart said the arrest warrant, which was later canceled, is part of the State’s mechanisms to frustrate court proceedings before his client made an application for refusal of remand.
“We have been denied the right to make this application (refusal of remand) in the court and the magistrate insisted that we file the written submissions. The court issued an arrest warrant against my client without any legal basis because we were in court on time. We had to prove through paper trail that my client is not a flight risk and that we were in court on time.
“This shows the State, in this case, is acting in an unjust way,” said Coltart.
Moyo’s case is being heard in a Bulawayo court, about 450km southwest of the capital Harare, where he stays with his family. He is currently out of custody on ZW$5,000 (US$59) bail and denies allegations that he facilitated procurement of media accreditation cards for two foreign journalists without following due procedure.
According to Coltart, the State is yet to respond to his client’s court application for refusal of remand.
Zimbabwe’s government spokesperson Nick Mangwana told Ubuntu Times that Moyo is facing the consequences of contravening the country’s laws abusing journalistic freedoms.
Mangwana said Zimbabwe, despite being ranked 130 on the World Press Freedom index, enjoys cordial relations with both local and international media institutions and “Moyo’s arrest had nothing to do with media or press freedom.”
“As a government, we are doing well and not worried. We have good relations with media institutions, local and international. If the crime Jeffrey Moyo is alleged to have committed was committed by a medical doctor, that doctor was going to face similar fate. If that doctor was arrested, people should not say Zimbabwe is against medical doctors.
“There is nothing about press freedom in this case in which Moyo is charged,” he told Ubuntu Times.
Mangwana also indicated that government has not hindered or banned journalists from practicing in Zimbabwe “because there is a regulator (ZMC) who in my view has not banned anyone from practicing journalism.”
“We have an example of journalists who wrote stories that led to the resignation of a whole vice-president here in Zimbabwe and no one was been penalized for that. That is press freedom people want and they have it. But Jeffrey Moyo’s case is a different one. He committed a criminal offense by abusing his journalistic freedoms,” added Mangwana.
Moyo is set to return to court on July 8 for routine remand.