Conrad Dube Mwanawashe, AfricaNews reporter in Harare, Zimbabwe
A Harare magistrate on Monday removed from remand freelance journalist Frank Chikowore who had been charged with public violence as the state stepped up a crackdown on journalists and other dissenting voices since the country's disputed March 29 elections.
Chikowore was arrested together with 26 opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party activists on April 15 and charged with public violence.
Former Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) secretary-general Luke Tamborinyoka, now director of information for the MDC, was among those detained with Chikowore.
His lawyer Alec Muchadehama said the defence lawyers had successfully applied for refusal of further remand after the state failed to provide a trial date for the fourth time.
“The state has failed to come up with a trial date for the fourth time so we successfully applied for them to be removed from remand,” said Muchadehama.
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