Denial of bail vs COVID-19
THERE is so much going on in our country that it is easy to overlook the obvious.
Prosecutor-General Kumbirai Hodzi and his subordinates, together with the courts, seem so ready to have people denied bail for even things that they will clearly never be sentenced for.
Mostly these trumpedup charges are brought by the prosecutors themselves. There are thousands of examples. Just to name one, those arrested and denied bail in the aftermath of the January shootings.
This is in the very face of a coronavirus pandemic where the world is urged to practise social distancing to help curtail the spread of the virus. The World Health Organisation also urges us to wash our hands regularly and keep our immune system up by eating healthily.
These health measures are obviously not possible in our cramped and filthy cells where detainees get substandard food because the system cannot afford to feed them adequately. We hear of the remand centres and prisons even denying detainees food, blankets and warm clothing from family members and well wishers. Denying people bail without serious consideration is tantamount to the death penalty.
With the recent detention without bail of the current crop of opposition activists and leaders, one is tempted to think that maybe Zanu PF is using the COVID-19 and courts as a weapon to kill opposing voices.
Please, let us all be allowed to stay safe from this killer virus.