of broadcasting equipment which included satellite dishes, cellphones, cameras and the VW Kombi in which they were travelling. May 30, 2008: Bennet Hassen Sono, Resemate Chauke and Simon Maodi (aka Musimani), reportedly employed by Sky News, appeared in court in Bulawayo on May 29 on charges of contravening provisions of the Post and Telecommunications Act. The trio are being jointly charged with Bulawayo resident Craig Mark Ram Edy, at whose house some of the equipment was allegedly stored. The journalists’ defence lawyers, Advocate Tim Cherry and Tavengwa Hara, said the trio appeared in court upon their insistence as the police had said they wanted time to investigate further and scan through the equipment to establish the contents and owners of the boxes found at Edy’s house. Advocate Cherry stated that it had been agreed that the accused plead guilty to the charge. The trio and Edy were remanded in custody to May 30, 2008. June 2, 2008: Three South African media workers were on June 2, 2008, sentenced to six months in prison in Zimbabwe. Magistrate John Masimba delivered the sentence, which the defence lawyers said they would challenge. Bennet Hassen Sono, Resemate Chauke and Simon Maodi (aka Musimani), who pleaded guilty to the charge, were given no option for bail or payment of a fine. The trio’s lawyer Tawengwa Hara will on June 3, 2008 file an urgent High Court application appealing against the sentence. The magistrate granted Walter Bongani Dube of the Attorney General’s Office a state application for forfeiture of the motor vehicle and the broadcasting equipment that was recovered following the three men’s arrest. June 3, 2008: Lawyers representing three South Africans arrested on May 23, 2008 for possessing broadcasting equipment and who were subsequently jailed for six months have appealed against the jail sentence at the Bulawayo High Court. The appeal was filed on June 3, 2008. Magistrate John Masimba on June 2, 2008 sentenced the three South Africans – Bennet Hassen Sono, Resemate Chauke and Simon Maodi (aka Musimani) – to an effective six months each in jail. Lawyers for the South Africans said in the appeal that the jail sentence was excessive and that a fine would have been adequate punishment. “The sentence is unheard of and a shock. The magistrate should have considered the option of a fine and not a jail term. The magistrate did also not look at the proper provisions of sentence of such an offence,” said Tawengwa Hara. The magistrate found the three guilty of contravening Section 33 of the Postal and Telecommunications Act Chapter 12, 03 that prohibits the possession of broadcasting equipment without a licence. July 11, 2008: Three South African nationals employed by Sky News – Bennet Hassen Sono, Resemate Chauke and Simon Maodi (aka Musimani) – who were serving a six-month jail term were released after a High Court judge reviewed the sentence and commuted it to a fine. The three were convicted on their own plea to contravening Section 33 (1) of the Postal and Telecommunications Chapter 12:03 by illegally bringing broadcasting equipment into the country without a licence. Justice Maphios Cheda of the High Court ruled that the trial magistrate had misdirected himself by imposing a custodial sentence in circumstances that warranted a non-custodial sentence. They were each fined Z$50 billion (US$1) and were deported immediately after paying the fines. • ALERT Date: May 29, 2008 Person/institutions: Blessed Mhlanga, James Muonwa and Whycliff Nyarota Violation/issue: Charged/sentenced So This Is Democracy? 2008 -143- Media Institute of Southern Africa