BULAWAYO – An URGENT High Court application filed by the MDC Alliance after the party had its rally – penciled in for Kwekwe last Sunday – banned by police will not be heard until SEPTEMBER 6.
Police told the MDC on August 30 that the rally, to be addressed by party leader Nelson Chamisa, could not proceed because of a typhoid outbreak in Midlands Province.
The MDC cancelled the rally, but filed an urgent application at the Bulawayo High Court on Friday, August 31, accusing police of breaking their Section 58 right to freedom of assembly and association.
Incredibly the Bulawayo High Court set Monday, September 3, as the date to hear the application – a day after the rally should have been held.
On Monday, the hearing was postponed again to the latest date.
Justice Nokuthula Moyo is handling the application.
According to MDC Alliance lawyer Jabulani Mhlanga, the MDC Alliance notified police of its intentions to stage a rally on August 27.
The Officer in Charge of Law and Order in Mbizo, Kwekwe, one Kazingi, said police were guided by health authorities that it was unsafe due to the disease outbreak, which has so far been blamed in the death of 10 people in Gweru.
In an affidavit before the court, Charles Madhihwa, the MDC Alliance’s district organising secretary for Kwekwe says: “The reasons advanced by the police are that there is an outbreak of typhoid in the province thus the public meeting will not be authorised.
“I submit that the right to associate and assemble is one of the most crucial rights in any society which must not be infringed without cogent reasons. I submit that the reason advanced by the regulatory authority are not cogent enough. This is just a lame excuse to deny the applicant to hold its rally.”
MDC Alliance argues that the outbreak of typhoid has only been confirmed in Gweru and there is no outbreak of it on Kwekwe.
“Even if the outbreak of typhoid is a concern which is not, I submit that there are other public gatherings which are being allowed by the police without any problems. Such gatherings include soccer matches and on the same date, September 2, there is a soccer match between Chapungu and Triangle at Ascot Stadium in Gweru.
“I submit that the refusal by the police to authorise the MDC Alliance’s planned public meeting is not only unlawful but also flies in the face of enjoyment of fundamental rights enshrined in the constitution. In terms of Section 58 of this country’s constitution, every person enjoys the right to freedom of assembly and association.”
The party also lamented that stopping the rally had financial implications for the party.
“The MDC Alliance’s members as far as Gokwe were informed of the meeting and the logistical arrangements that have been put in place. The party will thus suffer irreparable financial prejudice to re-organise the meeting,” Madhihwa said.
