The court rejects the request of the leader of the Masaraure teachers’ union challenging the detention

By Thandiwe Garusa

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Obert Masaraure, leader of the AMALGAMATED Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ), has been ordered to seek bail from the High Court after his application challenging the arrest was dismissed by Magistrate Dennis Mangosi.

Masaraure is accused of pushing his colleague Roy Issa to death from the seventh floor of a local hotel in 2016.

He denies the allegations.

Masaraure had challenged the pretrial detention arguing that the case against him was fabricated and politically motivated.

He also complained that an inquest into Issa’s death had ruled out foul play, but police ignored that fact.

The government spokesman, through his lawyer Douglas Coltart, had asked the state to rely on the investigation report after the clerk refused to comply.

The court, however, held that it was his duty to research the report in preparation for his defence.

Masaraure also said the allegations against him were baseless and could not prove that he should be remanded in custody.

Coltart told the court that the constant changing of the allegations proves that there is no valid reason to remand his client.

He further stated that the allegations did not highlight the role his client played in the death of the deceased.

“We are told that the defendants conspired to attack the deceased, but we have not been told what role the defendant played and we do not even know the names of the accomplices.

“We’re not told how many there are, for all we know of the allegations there could be 100,” Coltart said.

However, the State represented by Anesu Chirenje maintained that there was reasonable suspicion that Masaraure had committed the offence.

The union leader was remanded in custody on July 1.