Magistrates’ Court in Harare. The matter was postponed after Prosecutor Edmore Nyazamba said the prosecution was still to provide the defence counsel with state papers and that the prosecutor who is responsible for the case, Tawanda Zvekare, was attending to other commitments in Chiredzi. Lawyers representing the accused argued against the postponement of the case stating that the state’s failure to provide the papers in question would result in their clients’ continued remand. July 10, 2008: Harare Regional Magistrate Morgan Nemadire on July 10 dismissed an application for refusal of further remand by The Standard weekly newspaper, its editor Davison Maruziva, and MDC faction leader Arthur Guseni Oliver Mutambara. Nemadire refused the application by the trio’s lawyers, Beatrice Mtetwa for Mutambara; Advocate Erick Morris for The Standard newspaper, which is represented in the proceedings by its Group Projects Editor Iden Wetherell; and Advocate Deepak Mehta for Maruziva. They are being jointly charged for publishing falsehoods in violation of the repressive Access to Information on and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), as well as contempt of court as defined in the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act. The charges arise from the publication of an opinion piece written by Mutambara. November 12, 2008: Harare Magistrate Morgan Nemadire on November 12, 2008 referred to the Supreme Court the matter in which The Standard newspaper, its editor, Davison Maruziva and MDC faction leader Arthur Guseni Oliver Mutambara are jointly charged with contravening the Criminal Law (Reform and Codification) Act. The ruling followed submissions on October 22, 2008 by defence lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa for the case to be referred to a higher court, arguing that the Magistrates’ Courts did not have jurisdiction to hear the matter if it was deemed that there was contempt of court by the accused. • ALERT Date: May 27, 2008 Person/institutions: Media consumers Violation/issue: Threatened As reports of acts of lawlessness and politically motivated violence continued to rock Zimbabwe, war veterans reportedly ordered villagers in Matabeleland South to remove satellite television receivers from their homes. According to The Standard newspaper of May 25, terrified villagers said war veterans had set up bases throughout the province from where they were conducting all night political re-orientation vigils. The war veterans ordered the villagers to remove the receivers on May 21 because foreign broadcasters were “misleading” them into voting against Zanu-PF. Most villagers in the area can only watch and listen to South African and Botswana television and radio stations because of the poor transmission signals from Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), the sole state broadcaster in Zimbabwe. • ALERT Date: May 28, 2008 Person/institutions: Bennet Hassen Sono, Resemate Chauke and Simon Maodi (aka Musimani) Violation/issue: Detained/charged/sentenced Police in Esigodini in the southern province of Matabeleland arrested three media workers reportedly employed by Sky News, which is among foreign news organisations banned from reporting in Zimbabwe. The journalists – Bennet Hassen Sono, Resemate Chauke and Simon Maodi (aka Musimani) – were arrested on May 23, 2008. The three media workers, believed to be South Africans, were charged under the Access to Information and Protection of Private Act (AIPPA) and the Broadcasting Services Act (BSA) following their arrest and confiscation So This Is Democracy? 2008 -142- Media Institute of Southern Africa