Mayor Jacob Mafume Granted 30k Bail

High Court judge Justice Benjamin Chikowero has granted Harare mayor Jacob Mafume Z$30 000 bail, ending his 14-day incarceration.
Mafume was arrested over allegations of criminal abuse of office.
He was ordered not to interfere with any witnesses, surrender his passport to the clerk of court and continue residing at his place of residence until the matter is finalised.
In denying him bail at the Harare Magistrates Court, Deputy Chief Magistrate Bianca Makwande ruled that police were yet to complete investigations into the matter.
She stated that the court also considered his ties to his workplace where he was likely to interfere with witnesses and conceal evidence.
“Mafume facilitated for his sister and workmate to get stands without being on the housing waiting list while many have spent years on the list without being allocated stands,” she said.
The Harare mayor will appear in court for routine remand on December 14, 2020.
Meanwhile the MDC Alliance maintains that Makwande’s decision was another form of persecution against its party members.
“Mayor Jacob Mafume has been granted bail on appeal by the High Court. We reiterate that his detention and the refusal of bail in the first place were unconstitutional and a clear act of persecution. This weaponisation of the law against MDC Alliance members must end,” they said.
Scores of councillors and council officials have been arrested this year alone in what has been described as a deliberate and targeted operation against opposition officials running various Zimbabwean urban councils.
On the other hand, Government insists councils are being inefficiently run, causing poor service delivery and illegal parceling out of land. Thus, the arrests are justified. Nhau/Indaba