lapsed on Friday, 19 October 2012. This effectively meant that the notice to appeal fell away rendering Matura eligible to pay the $100 bail originally granted. 22 November 2012: Kariba magistrate Felix Chauromwe on Tuesday, 20 November 2012 remanded community news activist Kudakwashe Matura who is being charged with criminal defamation to Wednesday, 12 December 2012 for trial. Kariba is a town in Northern Zimbabwe. 13 December 13, 2012: Kariba magistrate Felix Chauromwe on Thursday, 13 December 2012 acquitted community news activist, Kudakwashe Matura, who was being charged with criminal defamation. The ruling came after Matura’s lawyer, Tapiwa Muchineripi, made an application for discharge at the close of the state case. He argued that the state had failed to prove its case against the defendant, noting that there had been no evidence adduced to prove that Matura had published the article in question. $OHUW Date: October 15, 2012 Person/ Institution: Thomas Madhuku Violation/ issue: Legislation Freelance journalist Thomas Madhuku has been freed on charges of practicing journalism without accreditation after Harare magistrate Anita Tshuma ordered the state to put its house in order. Magistrate Tshuma freed Madhuku after the state failed to furnish the court with a trial date. The magistrate said the state had shown that it was not ready to proceed to trial after postponing the case on several occasions. $OHUW Date: October 16, 2012 Person/ institution: Bethule Nkiwane and Tendai Kamhungira, Daily News Violation/ issue: Assaulted Daily News reporters, Bethule Nkiwane and Tendai Kamhungira, were manhandled and threatened by expelled South African ANC Youth League president Julius Malema’s bouncers in Harare on Sunday, 13 October 2012. The bouncers harassed the two journalists when they tried to interview Malema about the money laundering charges he is facing in South Africa and his alleged links to Zimbabwe’s former ruling party, Zanu-PF. A report was made to the police. Stanley Gama, Daily News editor, had earlier informed the reporters that Malema had agreed to the interview, but the bouncers became aggressive after introductions had been made in the presence of Zanu-PF officials. Gama said Malema was willing to cooperate but his bouncers intervened and told the reporters to “go to hell”. &RPPXQLTXp Date: October 19, 2012 Person/ institution: The African Commission on Human and People’s Rights Violation/ issue: Other The African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) on Friday, 12 October 2012 stepped up its efforts to protect and promote the right to freedom of expression on the continent by launching a continental-wide campaign to decriminalise expression. The Com- 6R7KLVLV'HPRFUDF\"