Police and State Security agents in Beitbridge were on Monday left with an egg in the face after a court freed 10 MDC-T members arrested on allegations of holding an unsanctioned meeting.
BY OWN CORRESPONDENT
In a 12-page judgment, magistrate Trevor Nyatsanza interpreted the Public Order and Security Act (Posa) and how it could not apply against Morgan Ncube and nine others.
Nyatsanza said in the event a meeting had been held, only the convener should have been arrested and not the entire crowd.
Morgan Ncube, the MDC-T 2013 losing parliamentary candidate and nine others, including a woman with a baby, were on March 3 this year arrested on allegations of holding a meeting without seeking police approval.
They, through Patrick Tererai of Tererai Legal Practice, denied the charge arguing their number fell far short of the 16 mentioned in Posa.
The 10 also argued that even in the event their number surpassed 16, the same law required that only the convener of the meeting be answerable.
The State unsuccesfully argued that about 60 people attended the meeting, but only those with red MDC-T T-shirts had been arrested.
