15 August 2016
High Court judge Justice Priscilla Chigumba on 15 August 2016 gave the Zimbabwe Republic Police(ZRP) up to this Friday to locate or make a sworn statement on the whereabouts of a camera belonging to freelance journalist Tony Manyangadze which was confiscated by one of its members.
This follows an urgent chamber application filed by Manyangadze on 11 August 2016 seeking an order compelling the police to return his camera.
The camera was forcefully taken from Manyangadze during public demonstrations in Harare’s central business district on 3 August 2016 against the planned introduction of bond notes.
The ZRP and its co-respondent, the Minister of Home Affairs, are being represented by Farai Chingwere of the Attorney-General’s Civil Division. Kossam Ncube, a member of MISA-Zimbabwe’s Media Lawyers Network, is representing Manyangadze.
The court action follows fruitless trips to Harare Central Police station by Manyangadze in a bid to recover his camera as had been advised by the policeman who confiscated it from him.
This is also despite a letter written by his lawyers on 4 August 2016 to the Officer Commanding Harare requesting the return of the camera in question.
The police are insisting that they have no knowledge of what happened to the camera and are still investigating the matter.
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