Former Finance Minister Ignatius Chombo and former Zanu-PF Youth League leader Kudzai Chipanga will have to bear the weekend in remand prison, after the High Court postponed their bail hearing to Tuesday next week. Chombo and Chipanga are challenging the decisions of Harare Magistrates Elisha Singano and Josephine Sande to deny them bail. The two are being represented by Lovemore Madhuku. Madhuku had previously said that the two magistrates were biased against his clients.
The High Court granted the postponement after the State had claimed that it was not ready and that it needed more time to file its response as it only received the bail application late on Thursday. Madhuku has previously said that the two magistrates were biased against his clients.
Chombo is facing charges of fraud, criminal abuse of office and contravening the Prevention of Corruption Act while Chipanga is facing charges of publishing or communicating false statements prejudicial to the State or alternatively causing disaffection among the police force or defence forces. The charges arise from a statement which Chipanga read out on 14 November 2017 in which he allegedly denigrated the Zimbabwe Defence Forces and its Commander General Constantino Chiwenga.
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