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Mugabe Protest Pastor Freed On $50 Bail

Patrick Mugadza

A KARIBA Pentecostal church pastor who was arrested for staging a one-man demonstration against Zanu-PF is finally out on bail after his lawyer successfully applied to have his bail reduced from $500 to $50.

Patrick Mugadza
Patrick Mugadza

Patrick Mugadza (45) from the Remnant Church in Kariba spent 21 days in remand prison after failing to raise $500.

He was granted $500 bail on December 15 last year.

Mugadza, however, failed to raise the money until New Year’s Eve when Thulani Nkala, his lawyer from Dube and Company, successfully applied for a reduction.

Victoria Falls resident magistrate Lindiwe Maphosa reduced the bail to $50.

In his submissions, Nkala said: “Bail granted to the accused is way too high given the fact that the offence he allegedly committed attracts a fine of less than $300.”

Mugadza was not asked to plead to the offence of criminal nuisance.

His trial starts tomorrow.

Mugadza’s other bail conditions remain unchanged.

The defence lawyer had initially applied for refusal of remand saying there was no basis to prosecute his client because he was exercising his constitutional right when he staged the demon- stration.

The magistrate dismissed the application saying as much as it was a constitutional right to demonstrate, exercising it must not be seen to infringe on other people’s rights.

The court was told that the pastor travelled all the way from Kariba to Victoria Falls to stage the solo demonstration against the party in December, during the 15th Zanu-PF Annual National People’s Conference.

Mugadza was arrested near Bata Building in the resort town after members of the public alerted police.

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