TEN MDC youths were made to toyi-toyi for SEVEN HOURS after they allegedly threw party leaflets into the grounds of the Bulawayo State House, their lawyers said on Tuesday.
The ten deny the charges and their lawyers argue that even if they had thrown the fliers, no crime was committed.
The youths, who include a 17-year-old, appeared before a Bulawayo magistrate on Tuesday charged with criminal nuisance.
Mandlenkosi Sibanda, 18, Andrew Nyathi, 32, Siamatende Dick Munsaka, 50, Jackson Lunga, 28, Clever Sibanda, 18, Mthulisi Nkiwane, 23, Sharlene Ndlovu, 23, Lillian Moyo, 26, Joseph Ndlovu, 30, and the 17-year-old juvenile complained that they had been badly beaten before being handed over to the police who locked them up for two nights without medical attention.
In a dramatic moment during the court hearing, one of the accused men, Siamatende Dick Munsaka, collapsed as he stood in the dock, knocking open the enclosure’s door before his head crashed against the floor with a heavy thud.
Prison officers and members of the public sitting in the gallery rushed forward to render first aid, first removing his shoes and shirt before he was helped to Court Two to get further attention.
Lawyer Kucaca Phulu, representing the group, said Munsaka’s collapse was a result of “torture” at the hands of the soldiers and police.
Phulu pleaded with magistrate Tawanda Muchemwa to release the group on bail. Dumisani Moyo, for the state, said he was not opposed to bail and offered the magistrate conditions that could be attached to their release.
Unusually, the magistrate ignored the prosecutor and remanded the 10 youths in custody to October 4.
Muchemwa said the activists had a “hidden agenda” and if freed they were likely to throw more fliers at the presidential guest house if released.
After a strong protest from Phulu, who accused the magistrate of “convicting my clients before trial”, Muchemwa retorted by accusing the lawyer of “trying to intimidate the court”.
But in a small victory for the defence, the magistrate ordered the prosecutor to investigate the “torture” allegations. The activists, all members of the MDC party led by Welshman Ncube, will be seen by two government doctors.
Phulu, speaking after the hearing, said they would be applying for bail at the High Court.
“Having seen the charge sheet, it is clear that there is no criminal offence that they committed,” Phulu said.
Prosecutors say just after 1.30PM on September 17, the 10 “acting in common purpose” went to State House on the outskirts of the city and threw fliers of their political party into the grounds.
Soldiers guarding the guest house, which is occasionally used by President Robert Mugabe when in the city, confronted the group and managed to apprehend the juvenile and Mandlenkosi Sibanda.
Prosecutors claim the two then implicated the other eight who were picked up from their homes around the city.
Defence lawyers say the group were made to toyi-toyi for several hours while under intense beating. They were later handed over to the police.