JUSTICE IN ZIMBABWE 122 ____________________________________________________________________ charge of contravening s 15(1)(c) of the Public Order and Security Act (i.e. making a false statement realising there is a real risk or possibility of undermining public confidence in a law-enforcement agency). Later her lawyer made an urgent application to the High Court for her release. The lawyer was not permitted to enter the High Court building and argue the matter before a judge. She was told that it was after normal court hours and that the Central Intelligence Officer assigned to do this had not given clearance for her to enter the building. She therefore had to communicate her case to the Registrar of the High Court through the metal bars, and the Registrar in turn communicated it to the judge. The judge refused the order, stating that the police were entitled to hold a person for up to forty-eight hours for the purposes of investigation. This is entirely incorrect. There is a string of cases in which it has been decided that the police may not arrest for the purposes of investigation. They may arrest only if they have a reasonable suspicion that a criminal offence has been committed. Dr Lovemore’s lawyers were maintaining that there was no such reasonable suspicion that the crime specified had been committed. After this ruling the police proceeded to take Dr Lovemore away in a police vehicle. As they were about to do so one of her lawyers tried to find out from the police to which police station she was being taken. The police refused to tell the lawyer and threatened to assault her if she persisted in her attempts to ascertain where her client was being taken. Her lawyer then attempted to bring a second application before the same judge, asking the court to order that the police to disclose where they intended to hold Dr Lovemore. The judge rejected this application, saying that this was not a new application but was the same application as before. Dr Lovemore was taken to the Warren Park Police Station. She was placed in a cell without being booked in. The lawyers made frantic efforts to trace where their client was without success. Dr Lovemore, who had not had any food that day, was given no food during the time that she was held. She was only given one small container of water on request.

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