Sidney Saize, Andrew Mambondiani, Chengetai Murimwa and Admire Matende expect to face charges.
(MISA/IFEX) – 12 March 2012 – Four journalists based in Mutare, eastern Zimbabwe, were on 9 March 2012 arrested in Nyanyadzi, Manicaland Province while covering a story on pollution in the area.
Charges were still to be preferred against Sidney Saize, Andrew Mambondiani, Chengetai Murimwa and Admire Matende.
The four were only released on the same day, at 8pm, into the custody of their lawyer David Tandiri, who is also a member of MISA-Zimbabwe’s Media Lawyers’ Network.
The journalists were released on condition that they report to Mutare’s Law and Order section at 7am on Saturday 10 March only for them to be further released into their lawyer’s custody on condition that they report to the same section on 12 March for the determination of charges to be preferred against them.
On 12 March the four journalists duly reported to the Law and Order section in Mutare and were set to reappear at the same police station later in the day to enable the police to verify facts surrounding their arrest.