Rural teachers union leader Masaraure freed after 5 days of ‘unjust imprisonment’

HARARE – Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union (ARTUZ) president Obert Masaraure had his arrest warrant cancelled on Tuesday following a successful application justifying contempt of bail conditions.

Masaraure landed in the dock on allegations of attempting to subvert a constitutionally elected government and was out on bail.

He recently failed to report to Hwedza Police Station on June 14 as ordered by the court resulting in an arrest warrant being issued against him.

He appeared before Harare magistrate Babra Mateko on Tuesday before the State sought his incarceration until the finalisation of his subversion trial arguing that he violated his bail conditions.

However, Mateko cancelled the warrant and freed Masaraure before she warned him to adhere to his bail conditions.

Masaraure insisted that he reported to the police on June 14 but was informed that Form 126 where he was supposed to sign was with the officer in charge. He was further informed that the officer in charge was not present and his whereabouts were unknown.

“I requested the police officer who attended to me to inform the officer in charge that I came to report but could not wait as I had a flight to catch. When I arrived in Namibia, I received a phone call from the officer in charge. You can verify this with Econet because my phone was on roaming. He informed me that there were security agents who were looking for me,” he said.

Masaraure told the court that when he returned to Zimbabwe on June 20, he reported to Hwedza Police Station the following day before he was arrested.

One of his lawyers, Doug Coltart, said Masaraure had endured “five days of unjust imprisonment based on a false accusation of breaching his bail conditions.”