Cynthia Manjoro and Yvonne Musarurwa are among the 24 who were arrested for allegedly killing Inspector Petros Mutedza.
Magistrate Shane Kubonera remanded the 24, most of them MDC-T activists from Glen View to July 29.
Defence lawyer Jeremiah Bamu insisted that the state should quickly come up with a trial date.
He pleaded with the court to facilitate investigations into the accused’s complaints of torture while in police cells.
Bamu said the defence prefers an independent body to investigate the complaints as the Attorney General’s office had exhibited bias in the matter.“We are working on an application for bail under changed circumstances which we intend to file early next week,” Bamu said after court.
“Some of the accused continue languishing in jail despite being granted bail due to a technical hitch regarding the need for them to surrender their passports, which they do not have.
“We wrote a letter to the registrar general (Tobaiwa Mudede) and he promised to liase with the High Court Registrar Charles Nyatanga on that issue.”
Bamu told the court that the eight who are still in custody are nursing various injuries but are failing to get medical attention within the Zimbabwe Prison Service.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
“Yvonne Musarurwa has a fracture on the left hand and blood is coming out from a wound on the right leg,” Bamu said.
“Cynthia Manjoro has a growth on the left knee but this has not been attended to.
“She needs to go for an urgent biopsy but this has not been done.
“The only medication that they are receiving are painkillers and it is barely adequate for the serious injuries they have.”
Manjoro’s arrest has sparked debate as her friends say she was nowhere near Glen View when Mutedza was killed.
She reportedly spent most of her time at church and also at a friend’s house on the day.
Her lawyer Charles Kwaramba said although Manjoro was being charged with murder like the rest who the MDC says were nowhere near the bottle store where the cop was allegedly murdered by unknown revellers, she was arrested as bait to lead to the arrest of her boyfriend who was driving her car on the fateful day.
“The police had hoped that her boyfriend would turn himself in as did Tungamirai Madzokere when his wife and sister were arrested when he could not be found at home,” Kwaramba said.
“When Madzokere handed himself in, the two women were released so this was the plan with Manjoro but it went bad because the boyfriend did not hand himself in.
“It is possible he was spotted in Glen View but like everyone else, he was not doing what he is alleged to have been doing.”
