DETAINED Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume (pictured) has developed a fever, chest pains and a headache while held in jail, his lawyer has said.
Mafume is accused of trying to bribe a key witness in his criminal abuse of office case and has been languishing in jail after he was denied bail by a Harare magistrate. He was arrested on 14 December.
According to his lawyer, Advocate Tonderai Bhatasara, Mafume’s health has deteriorated while in prison.
“The situation is bad. He was given antibiotics by prison doctors but it’s not helping,” said Bhatasara in an interview.
The mayor is awaiting judgement on his bail appeal, which has been pending for two weeks.Bhatasara said he has been unwell for some days now.
“He has changed. He is in pain. He used to be jovial despite being locked up but now he is visibly sick and withdrawn,” he said.
Mafume applied for permission to be seen by his personal doctor on Thursday, but his request was turned down by Harare Provincial Head magistrate Vongai Guuriro Muchuchuti.
“So we will be exploring other options to ensure he gets treatment. No tests have been carried out on him as yet so we were hoping that his personal doctor will carry out a physical examination and do tests including Covid-19 if we get permission,” Bhatasara said.
Mafume was arrested a week after being released on ZW$30 000 bail for his criminal abuse of office charges.
It is state’s case that he was nabbed trying to bribe a key witness in criminal abuse of office case, Edgar Dzehonye.
He denies the accusations.-STAFF WRITER
