HARARE – A Harare court on Monday postponed to Tuesday the bail ruling for teachers’ union leader Obert Masaraure, who was arrested last Friday on charges of inciting public violence.
Masaraure was arrested over a Twitter post demanding the release of his Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe colleague, Robson Chere.
Chere was charged with the alleged murder of Roy Issa back in 2016, the same charges levelled against Masaraure last month, before his release on bail.
In the latest case, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) alleges that Masaraure incited public violence after he posted demanding the release of Chere.
Harare magistrate Stanford Mambanje said he would rule on his bail application on Tuesday.
The union leader was arrested after he went to Harare Central Police Station as part of his bail reporting conditions.
The charges stem from a Twitter post where he allegedly stated: “Dear partners and members of ARTUZ; Ref: Arrest of Cde Robson Chere; I meant to write to you earlier to thank you for the massive solidarity you rendered to me when I was in custody accused of murdering Roy Issa in 2016, I thought I could write after taking a rest from the draining experiences of the cages of Chikurubi Maximum Prison. Unfortunately, the State has arrested my friend and Cde the Secretary General of Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe, Cde Robson Chere. I can no longer afford to just say thank you, but to once again ask for active solidarity from you. Chere and myself are now jointly charged with murder of Roy Issa in 2016.”
It is alleged that he also said the state seeks to weaken ARTUZ’S capacity to respond to the economic crisis which has shrivelled teachers’ salaries.
The state opposed bail arguing that he was likely to reoffend since he committed the alleged offence while on bail for other criminal cases.
His lawyer Tapiwa Muchineripi said: “The accused is not likely to abscond since he was arrested while reporting to the police as per his current bail conditions in another matter.”
