Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. Two Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) supporters were last week acquitted on charges of tearing political campaign posters belonging to a ZANU PF candidate in Manicaland.
The Standard reported that the duo, Zephenia Nyangani and Learnmore Makuwaza who reside in Mboto village in Mutasa District, were arrested on 10 December 2022.
They were charged with the destruction of political posters as defined in section 152(1) of the Electoral Act.
Nyangani and Makuwaza’s trial commenced on 20 May 2023 at Mutasa Magistrates Court.
Prosecutors alleged that the duo defaced posters belonging to ZANU PF local government candidate, Regina Barara, ahead of a pending by-election.
Nyangani and Makuwaza were accused of tearing the posters when they were pasting and affixing posters of their CCC political party candidate in Ward 6.
Their lawyer, David Tandiri of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) applied for their discharge on the grounds that prosecutors failed to prove a prima facie case against the two CCC supporters.
He also argued that state witnesses, who testified during the trial gave contradictory and inconsistent testimonies.
Magistrate Artwell Sanyatwe agreed with Tandiri’s arguments and ruled that one of the state witnesses had exonerated Nyangani and Makuwaza in the commission of the alleged offence.
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