The High Court has ordered Bindura Magistrate Msika to hear the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) appeal against the ban on their campaign launch rally, which was scheduled to take place at 10 AM today.
The High Court ruled that the hearing must occur at 12 noon, following an urgent application filed by three Bindura residents seeking an order to compel Msika to set down the hearing and determination of the appeal by no later than 11 AM today. The residents argued that their political rights and right to assembly and association had been violated by the ban. Jeremiah Bamu is representing them. CCC national spokesperson, Fadzayi Mahere, confirmed the ruling in a statement seen Source. She said:
The High Court ruled that the Magistrate was wrong in failing to hear the appeal against the ban of our launch rally timeously. The High Court has ordered the Magistrate to hear the appeal at 12 noon today. Our rally was scheduled to take place at 10 am today.
The party initially wanted to hold its national campaign mega-launch rally in Bindura on the 9th of July 2023 but police did not sanction the rally citing insecurity at the other proposed venue and a lack of logistics arrangements. The party then approached the courts to challenge the ban.
The CCC claims that ZANU PF is the one influencing the police to block its rallies so that it doesn’t adequately mobilise support ahead of the 23 August harmonised elections. The party claims that ZANU PF has used political violence, unlawful arrests, and intimidation to disrupt or ban over 92 of their meetings or rallies since their formation in January 2022.
Source Pindula News
