By staff reporter The case of two company directors accused of erecting an illegal billboard to tarnish a land developing company in Borrowdale have been slapped with a warrant of arrest for the third consecutive time in a row.
The directors Mark Strathen of Fairclot company and Grant Russell of Paragon company were issued with a warrant of arrest for the third time after they failed to appear in court on time.
They however came later to cancel the warrant in another court after hearing that the presiding magistrate Shane Kubonera was not on duty yesterday.
The matter was instructed by the High Court to go for trial after unsuccessfully applied for an exception application.
The duo were then ordered to come on June 27 for trial.
Strathen and Russell are facing criminal nuisance charges.
On the previous sitting the pair was issued a warrant of arrest after failing to show up in court.
Their recent application for review was dismissed by High Court judge Justice Bachi Muzawazi.
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Russell and Strathen who are represented by Tendai Biti last year filed the application for exception to charges of criminal nuisance which was dismissed by magistrate Kubonera on the grounds that it was marred by triable issues.
In dismissing their application for exception Mr Kubonera said the duo must stand trial to answer to their allegations.
Aggrieved by the dismissal of their application Russell and Strathen filed a review of Kubonera’s determination at the High Court.
Justice Bachi Muzawazi dismissed their application saying she find no reason to interfere with the incomplete proceedings before the primary court.
Russell and Strathen are the applicants together with their companies as first applicant to fourth respectively.
They cited magistrate Kubonera and the State prosecutor Shambadzeni Fungura as respondents.
The duo had challenged that the contents of the billboard did not disclose an offence.
They further said they argued that the contents of the billboard did not interfere with the ordinary comfort, convenience, peace or quite of the public or any section of the public thereof.
Magistrate Kubonera turned down the application on the defective charge, and did not make a determination on the Constitutional arguments ruling that, a determination on the appropriateness of the charge, whether it disclosed an offence or not cannot be made at that stage but only after hearing evidence.
After that decision by Kubonera the duo filed an urgent chamber application for stay of those proceedings pending the review.
However after the dismissal of the application for review at the High Court the trial is expected to start.
