South African national and distribution assistant, Tapfumaneyi Kancheta. Ramabulana and Kancheta were stopped 67 km from Zimbabwe’s southern town of Masvingo and forced to drive along the Chivi-Mandamabwe road for 16 km before turning into Mandamabwe Road where the truck and its contents were set alight. The two were severely beaten and dumped in that area. Wilf Mbanga, the publisher of The Zimbabwean on Sunday and its stablemate The Zimbabwean, noted that the incident comes hard on the heels of remarks by Zanu-PF Secretary for Administration Emmerson Mnangagwa blaming The Zimbabwean for the party’s electoral defeat in the March 29 elections. May 23, 2008: MISA Zimbabwe condemned the burning of The Zimbabwean on Sunday newspapers as well as the beating of its staff. MISA Zimbabwe called this an unwarranted onslaught on the citizens’ right to access alternative information and ideas through publications such as The Zimbabwean on Sunday. “These acts of lawlessness and disregard for human life continue at a time when the country is preparing for the June 27, 2008 presidential election run-off, raising mounting fears that the high stakes contest between President Robert Mugabe and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirayi will not be free and fair in the wake of the determined efforts to shut out any form of dissent and opposing views”, said MISA Zimbabwe. • ALERT Date: May 23, 2008 Person: Harrison Nkomo Violation/issue: Charged Zimbabwe media lawyer Harrison Nkomo, charged under Section 33 or alternatively Section 41 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act on May 23, applied to be removed from remand, arguing that there was no reasonable suspicion that he committed the alleged offence. Beatrice Mtetwa, who appeared on behalf of Nkomo, told Harare Magistrate Doris Shomwe that Nkomo is accused of having uttered words, which are insulting of or undermine the authority of the President by allegedly saying in the Shona vernacular: “My friend, go and tell your father to vacate office. He has failed to rule, we are suffering in this country.” It is alleged by the state that Nkomo said these words to a court official, Michael Mugabe, who shares the same surname with President Robert Mugabe. June 3, 2008: Media lawyer, Harrison Nkomo, facing charges of insulting President Robert Mugabe, has applied to have the matter referred to the Constitutional Court. Nkomo’s lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa made the application before Harare Magistrate Gloria Shomwe in terms of Section 24(2) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe. In terms of that section, a matter may be referred to the Supreme Court, which will sit as a Constitutional Court to determine whether a section of the law under which the accused person is being charged violates the Bill of Rights. June 25, 2008: Harare Magistrate Doris Shomwe on June 25 referred the matter involving media lawyer Harrison Nkomo, who is facing charges of insulting the president of Zimbabwe in contravention of section 33 and 41 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act (the code), to the Constitutional Court. In a very brief ruling, Magistrate Shomwe underscored the fact that for an application to refer the matter to the Constitutional Court to fail, the application should be frivolous and vexatious. She said for the court to come up to that conclusion, the application should be devoid of merit and unreasonable. So This Is Democracy? 2008 -140- Media Institute of Southern Africa