HARARE – Two journalists who were arrested after they interviewed three female MDC Alliance activists who were abducted and sexually abused in May have been acquitted.

Frank Chikowore and Samuel Takawira were arrested on charges of breaching Section 11 (b) of Statutory Instrument 83 of 2020 in terms of the Covid-19 regulations by allegedly disobeying a lawful order from a police officer, but their lawyers said the charges were merely an attempt to prevent them from reporting on the abduction by state security agents.

Mbare magistrate Kudzai Hove halted their trial on Thursday at the close of the state case.

Prosecutors had failed to prove that a crime had been committed, Hove said while citing witness inconsistencies.

“The chief witness Detective Collin Makore gave conflicting statements of where the accused were arrested. At one point he said they were arrested in the ward and at another point he said he ordered them to leave the ward and they complied before he handed them to his superiors,” said the magistrate.

The journalists were arrested at Parktown Hospital on May 22 where they were interviewing Joana Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova.

The state claimed they failed to adhere to the regulations without sufficient cause.

It was the state’s case that on May 21 the duo went to the hospital with the intention to interview the three women but were denied access.

Prosecutors alleged the two journalists returned a day later and sneaked into the hospital without being noticed.

“The two accused persons knowing that it was not time for visiting patients and that an order had been previously given by the police for them not to enter the said hospital ward without reference to the acting hospital administrator, Mr Stewart Ephraim, unlawfully used the hospital back entrance ordinarily reserved for hospital staff to avoid detection and sneaked into the hospital High Dependency Unit (HDU) ward,” alleged prosecutor Terrence Mukuze.

It was alleged that Detective Makore who was on duty guarding the trio noticed them and followed.

He allegedly found out that they were not observing social distancing among themselves and also with the admitted patients.