HARARE – Former Air Zimbabwe Chief Operations Officer Simba Chikore was on Tuesday released on $30 bail after being charged with kidnapping.
Chikore, married to former President Robert Mugabe’s daughter, Bona, was not asked to plead during a brief appearance before Harare magistrate Elisha Singano.
Bona was in court to support her husband, who was arrested at the Robert Mugabe International Airport after returning from a foreign trip on Monday night.
Sebastin Mutizirwa, prosecuting, alleged Chikore, 41, “hatched a plan and connived with Simbarashe Mutimbe, who is already on remand, and acted in common purpose to unlawfully detain and deprive Bertha Tsitsi Zakeyo, a female adult, of her freedom of bodily movement by refusing her to exit her workplace at Zimbabwe Airways Private Limited premises for four hours against her will.”
The charges stem from an incident on June 7 this year when Chikore, who was coordinating the establishment of the new airline, sacked Zakeyo for allegedly leaking company secrets. She was the company’s legal officer.
Prosecutors say Chikore then tried to force Zakeyo to sign a letter accepting her dismissal but she had refused to do so, demanding the presence of her lawyer.
It is alleged when Zakeyo tried to leave, Mutimbe – a security guard – had prevented her from doing so.
Magistrate Singano, in granting Chikore bail, said bail was a fundamental right unless there were compelling reasons to keep an accused person in custody.
The magistrate told Chikore not to interfere with witnesses and to continue residing at his given Mt Pleasant address.
Chikore’s lawyer Jonathan Samukange said he would apply for his removal from remand at the next court hearing.
