Detainees further remanded due to absence of state prosecutor
By Violet Gonda
5 June 2007

The 27 political detainees who have been in custody for more than 65 days, received another blow on Tuesday after their remand hearing was postponed again to Thursday this time, because the state prosecutor was not available.

Ian Makone, the MDC election strategist who was granted bail last Wednesday after spending two months and three days in political detention, said they were only told the prosecutor had to attend to some emergency which was not disclosed in court. The prosecutor who did turn up felt that he was not competent to tackle the case but it’s believed that this was another way of frustrating the defense team who had argued that there are several state prosecutors who could have stood in.

Makone said: “It is obviously very frustrating because you’d think once people have arrested you the next thing is for justice to take its course. But we have been to court several times and remanded in custody on several occasions and this is naturally a source of frustration.” But he said despite these hurdles the opposition prisoners are in high spirits.

They are all facing terrorism charges, which they deny as trumped up charges to weaken the opposition. Makone, who is also MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s aide, said he was tortured while in police custody and so were all the other political detainees. He said the torture comprised of being made to sit in a particular uncomfortable position and “experiencing excruciating pain and being kicked with booted feet and baton sticks.”

He said not one person escaped being assaulted and some of the activists like Morgan Komichi, a National Executive Member, were seriously injured. Komichi has been in a prison hospital as a result of the injuries sustained while in police custody. Makone said the courts ordered the police on Monday to take him to a public hospital. At the time of broadcast we were not able to find out if Komichi had been transferred.

Narrating his prison ordeal in remand prison, Makone said there were about 400 inmates in a place suitable for about 200 people. The living conditions were unhygienic and there was no proper food or blankets and people lived on a diet of sadza and boiled cabbage.

The full interview with Ian Makone can be heard on Tuesday’s Hot Seat programme.