BULAWAYO – Three in-laws of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s son Collins have been denied bail for a third time, with a Bulawayo magistrate rejecting arguments that delays by prosecutors and police amounted to changed circumstances.
Amina Jassinta Jessub Arab, 47, her daughter Dyonne Tanaka Tafirenyika, 28, and their relative Noreen Jessub, 51, were remanded in custody to September 30 by Bulawayo regional magistrate Sibonginkosi Mnkandla.
Arab is the mother of Kelsea Tafirenyika, the 22-year-old second wife of Mnangagwa’s twin son. Kelsea was twice arrested in Harare on drugs charges and money laundering allegations before her release on bail.
The three are facing charges of dealing in dangerous drugs following their arrest at a lodge in Bulawayo’s Ilanda suburb on August 19.
They were initially denied bail by another magistrate, Taurai Manuwere, on August 24 and later lost an appeal before Justice Bongani Ndlovu of the Bulawayo High Court.
They returned to the magistrates court on Wednesday seeking bail on the basis of what their lawyer Admire Rubaya described as changed circumstances.
In their written application, filed on September 10, the three argued that more than 20 days had passed since their arrest without a trial date being set or state papers being served on them. They said police had indicated in the remand papers that investigations would be completed by September 2, but the deadline had passed without the case being trial-ready.
“The accused persons are languishing in prison while the state and police are dilly-dallying,” Rubaya said.
He argued that their continued detention was particularly difficult to justify because the National Prosecuting Authority’s case involved what he described as a “smash and grab” investigation, with many of the witnesses expected to be police officers.
But prosecutor Vhumani Moyo opposed the application, arguing that the defence had failed to demonstrate any new circumstances since the first bail application.
Moyo said the passage of 21 days was not, on its own, sufficient to constitute changed circumstances, particularly given the nature of the investigation.
He said forensic examination of the alleged cocaine was still in progress and that September 2 had merely been an estimated date for the completion of investigations rather than a binding deadline.
Moyo told the court that the forensic results had been received by prosecutors just before Wednesday’s court session and that the state intended to serve its papers on the accused on Thursday.
Rubaya challenged that assertion, saying the state had produced no evidence showing that the forensic results were actually in its possession.
“There is no evidence to show that the expert analysis is in their possession. We can’t take their word for it,” he said.
The defence also attacked the affidavits relied upon by the NPA to oppose bail, arguing that the documents had not been properly commissioned.
Rubaya said the stamp on the documents referred only to “the officer in charge CID drugs and narcotics” without clearly identifying the person who had administered the oath or establishing that he was a commissioner of oaths.
The bail application argued that the alleged affidavits were therefore invalid and should not have been relied upon by the state. Rubaya cited several previous High Court and Supreme Court decisions in support of that argument.
Rubaya further argued that the State had not produced scientific evidence establishing that the substances allegedly recovered from the women were dangerous drugs.
He argued that no field test, preliminary test or confirmatory laboratory analysis had been placed before the court at the initial bail hearing. The defence argued that there was also no evidence detailing the chain of custody of the alleged drugs.
The defence said this was a material development because the identity of the alleged substances was central to the charges.
The lawyers also disputed the alleged possession of the drugs, arguing that none of the substances had been found on the women’s persons.
Two sachets of alleged cocaine were found hidden inside a Nike shoe in Jessub’s room, while the substance allegedly recovered from Arab was in a small brown bag. In Tafirenyika’s case, the state alleges that drugs were found in a small handbag and a plastic bag containing pads.
The defence argued that lodge staff had access to the rooms for cleaning and that the possibility of the drugs having been planted could not be excluded.
Rubaya also challenged the prosecution’s concerns that the three could abscond because they did not ordinarily reside in Bulawayo.
He said they were Zimbabwean citizens with fixed addresses and offered to have them surrender their passports to the court. The draft bail order proposed a ZiG 1,000 deposit for each accused, weekly reporting to Hatfield Police Station in Harare and conditions barring them from interfering with state witnesses or investigations.
The defence also offered house arrest or other stringent conditions as alternatives to continued detention.
Rubaya said the three had co-operated with police since their arrest and that there was no evidence they had attempted to interfere with witnesses or investigations.
He argued that the state could address any concerns through strict bail conditions rather than continued incarceration.
Prosecutor Moyo maintained that the defence was effectively attempting to reopen matters already considered by Manuwere.
He also accused the defence of turning the bail proceedings into a mini-trial by raising allegations that the drugs could have been planted.
The state’s case is that police recovered cocaine from the rooms occupied by Jessub and Arab and cocaine and crystal methamphetamine from Tafirenyika’s room, together with US$53,055 in cash.
Manuwere, in tossing the first bail application, cited the seriousness of the charges, the possibility of custodial sentences and what he considered a risk of abscondment, including the women’s foreign properties, valid passports and access to substantial cash.
The defence’s new application insists that those concerns can be addressed through conditions, including surrender of passports, regular reporting and restrictions on movement. It says the women are prepared to comply with stringent conditions rather than remain in remand prison.
The three will remain in custody pending their next appearance on September 30. Rubaya said he would file another appeal at the High Court.
Source: Mnangagwa son’s in-laws held on drugs charges denied bail a third time – Zimbabwe News Now
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