By Thupeyo Muleya
Beitbridge 7 February 2011
Five MDC-T activists were yesterday fined $1500 each for holding a victory celebration rally in Swereki village without notifying the regulatory authority.
Moffat Cephas Ndou (54), Nephat Mdlongwa (42), Rodney Mbedzi (43), Kesani Khohomela and Murunwa Siphuma (65) all of Beitbridge were convicted on charges of contravening section 26 subsection 11 of the Public Order and Security Act (failure to comply with a prohibition order) or alternatively section 25 subsection 5 of the same act (failure to give b notice of a gathering).
Failure to pay the fine will see them doing time in jail for 6 months. A further six months of their sentence was suspended on condition of good behavior.
Moffat Cephas Ndou is the chairman of MDC-T constituency, while Rodney Mbedzi is ward 9 councilor under the Beitbridge rural district council. The other three are senior party activists in the party.
Mr. Winston Tshakalisa of Tshakalisa Law firm represented the accused persons.
They all pleaded not guilty to the charges when they appeared before Mr. Carrington Karidzagundi, but were however convicted because of overwhelming evidence provided by the state.
The prosecutor, Mr. Muchiwande Sithole told the court that on the 12Th of April last year, Mbedzi proceeded to Swereki police base when he advised the police of his party’s intention to hold a rally at Swereki business centre on the 17Th of the same month.
He was in turn told that he should seek authority from the police officer commanding Beitbridge district that is the regulating authority in terms of the law.
Mbedzi then approached the police officer commanding Beitbridge district with his request. The request was in turn turned down on the grounds that some of the meeting conveners had pending cases of public violence at the courts and that they also paused a security threat to the community.
The court was also told that despite the five getting a prohibition order barring them from holding the rally, they then proceeded to hold it at Mbedzi’s homestead on the 17TH of April. They had gathered a crowd of 250 party people.
The issue came to light when police in the same area got a tip off that the five had convened an illegal rally, they then proceeded and arrested the five accused persons. The crowd was subsequently dispersed by the police.
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