Mzembi freed after 11 months, says many prisoners may be awaiting justice unfairly
Former Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi says up to half of Zimbabwe’s prison population could be innocent detainees languishing behind bars while awaiting trial, following his acquittal after spending 11 months in custody on criminal abuse of office charges. Speaking to journalists after the High Court cleared him of wrongdoing, Mzembi said his time in prison […] The post Mzembi freed after 11 months, says many prisoners may be awaiting justice unfairly appeared first on NewZimbabwe.com.
Black News 
Former Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi says up to half of Zimbabwe’s prison population could be innocent detainees languishing behind bars while awaiting trial, following his acquittal after spending 11 months in custody on criminal abuse of office charges.
Speaking to journalists after the High Court cleared him of wrongdoing, Mzembi said his time in prison exposed weaknesses in Zimbabwe’s justice delivery system, particularly the prolonged detention of accused persons on remand.
“In prison, there’s a community out there, which obviously, I believe that maybe up to 50% of the people who are currently incarcerated could be people like me, who have to be given the opportunity to defend themselves or to be defended,” Mzembi said.
“And then the rule of law will naturally pass its own verdict on them. And the sooner we speed up court processes and make sure that people do not stay in remand for inordinate times, I think that’s where the justice lies.”
He said true justice depended on the State’s ability to process cases efficiently and within reasonable timeframes.
The former minister said the 11 months he spent in custody felt like a lifetime.
“I spent 11 months, which is enough time to actually conceive and give birth, nine months plus two months of breastfeeding that I spent in incarceration,” he said.
“But notwithstanding, I’m glad that the state, in fact the jury, the judge and the jury, made the verdict that they’ve announced. I think it’s the fairest thing, it was the fairest thing to do under the same circumstances.”
Mzembi had been accused of abusing his office by allegedly donating four public-viewing television sets to churches during his tenure as Tourism minister.
However, High Court judge Benjamin Chikowero ruled that the State had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
Chikowero said prosecutors failed to call key witnesses, including former permanent secretary Margaret Sangarwe, whose memorandum reportedly authorised the allocation of the television sets to rural communities and churches as part of a broader tourism and public viewing programme linked to the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
The judge also noted that ministry records continued to reflect the television sets as government property, weakening the State’s claim that Mzembi had personally donated them.
The post Mzembi freed after 11 months, says many prisoners may be awaiting justice unfairly appeared first on NewZimbabwe.com.
