Africa Defense and Aid Fund of the American Committee Ou Afri Ca 164 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10016 (212) 532-3700

Africa Defense and Aid Fund of the American Committee ou Afri ca 164 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10016 (212) 532-3700

September 11. 1975

To: Persona Concerned AbOut the Trial o! Tapson Mawere & Synos Mangezva

From: George M. Houser

MAWI!R.E ACQUITTED; MANGAZVA FOUND GUILTY ON T11RRB COUNrS

The trial of these two Africans, wbo were arrested and beaten in a raci s t incident in Delaware on June 7th, began the day after Labor Day. The prosecution and the defense rested their case on Friday afternoon, September 5th. The jury was out from the afternoon of the 5th until the end of the afternoon on Satur day the 6th. Paul Irish and I attended one day of the trial ~lednesday, Sept emb4r 3rd) while Judge Wi lliam Booth, President of ACOA, appeared as a character Witness on Friday morning September 5th. Throughout the trial we have kept closely in toueb With defense attorney, Conrad Lynn, the defendants, and others who vera on the aceoe. To summari te the outcome, after two days of deliberation, the jury acquitted Mawere of the one charge against him - obstructing the police in the performance of their duty. (Tapson had, by his own admission, attempted to stop the pollee and some men dressed in civilian clothes f rom beating his companion). Mangazva was found quilty on thr ee charges - disorder ly conduct, offensive touching ( or non• felonious third degree assault), and resisting arrest. Mangazva was acqui tted on the other charge of public intoxication. The judge has 60 days in which to give a sentence which he has not yet done. In spite of the fact that the three counts against Mangazva are all misdemeanors, one of them (resisting arrest) carries a maximum penalty of tw years in prison and the ot her tw 6 moaths.

The Setting The courtroom was not large. There are benches Which would hold perhaps 75 or so visitors. Most of the time these seats were rather well- filled. The case has received a great deal of local Delaware publicity with front page stori es in the !iilmington and Dover Press. During most of the days that the trial was in pro. gress, there wer e pickets outside the courthouse demanding the r elease of the t wo Zimbabweans • they made their presence felt. On one occasion the chanting was so loud that the court was recessed While the pickets were asked to be less noisy.

The Jury

The jury of 12 plus two alternates was chosen from a panel of 39, incl uding 8 blacks. The jury finally chosen was composed of 4 men and 8 wmen mostly mi ddle• aged and middle-class . Two of the women were black. The process of choosing the jury took one day. The system which is followed in Delaware is that the attorney& do not have the right of quest1.onin,g the prospective jurors. The judge alone baa (2) this right. The attorneys may submit to the judge in advance a series of questions Which they would like the judge to take into consideration. The defense attorney objected to this process at the beginning of the trial. Of the 13 questions ~nich Conrad Lynn submitted, only one was granted. This was a question about whether any members of the panel felt that a police officer's •~rd was more reliable than that of a civilian. Other questions such as whether any members of the panel had rela tives ~~o were law enforcement officers , whether any members of the panel were res idents of Harrinston (the town in which the restaurant mether any members of the panel bad ever been victims of any crime, <·lhether any m<..aber of the panel had ~::- _,.. \ relationships with black people, etc., were all not granted. The lHtnesses

About 20 witnesses Here called by the prosecution. These included the two 17 or 18 year white waitresses, the lhite bus driver, etc. There were only three defense witnesses and they all appeared as character witnesses. They were Hilliam Booth, HilHam .Johnston, President of the Episcopal Churchmen for South Africa, and Davis M'Gabe, a ZimbabHean >lho teaches at the City University on Staten Island.

The main case for the prosecuti on seemed to revolve around the charge of intox• ication,. Circumstantial evidence >ms allowed by the judge over the objection of the defense. This included six empty cans of beer allegedly found near the seat on the bus where Mawere and Hansazva «ere seated, and an almost full bottle of scotch wbi~h wao prescnt~d in a paper bag which oome of the ;ntness~s said they had occn in the bands of one of the defendants. No witnesses, however, indicated they had seen either of the two men drinking from either ca~s of beer or from the bottle.

Both·Ma,~re and Mangazva seemed to make an impact on the jury in their own tes~ timony. They were quiet and deliberative in what they had to say. Their basic facts on •mat had happened on the occasion differed from the prosecution witnesses, who as indicated above, made the case that they were both drunk. Pro~ the outset the defendants had said that they bad tvo empty beer cans >lhicb they bad given to one of the waitresses >lhen they first «ent into the restaurant to ask her to dispose of them in the paper bag in which they were held. They had not consumed the con tents of the beer in the restaurant.

The virulent racism of many of the ~itnesses was quite apparent throughout the testimony, as the witnesses refused to refer to the defendants by name, but talked 1 of "the short coloured fellot7,' and "the tall one". At one point the brother of the Harrington police chief had Synos Mangazva, a PhD candidate, saying ''Me no understand"! to the arresting plainclothesman, in the ~nner of an illiterate.

The defense was quite effective in exposing numerous contrPdictions in the tes• timony of those from Harrington. For example, one state trooper claimed that Syn.os showed no visible signs of injury at the police station, 1

The Verdict

The jury was out from Friday aftetnoon until Saturday afternoon. The judge instructed and charged the jury on at least four occasions - When they first got the case on Friday afternoon, at 9:45 a .m. on Saturday morning, at noon on Saturday and again at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. kpparently he was concerned that it was taking the jury so long to reach a decision. At noon on Saturday the foreman of the jury had sent a message to the judge in Which she said ''We are in total disagreement". Ordinarily this ~uld have meant a hung jury. However the judge did not allow it because the technical language Which was supposed to be used was that the jury is ''hopelessly deadlocked". The judge instructed the jury to this effect and made them go back for the Saturday afternoon session. At 4:00 in the afternoon the judge call ed the jury in to explain Delawa

What's Next? The judge has 60 days to give his sentence on the three charges against Man gazva. There are some legal aspects of the case ~nich should be appealed to a higher court. If Mangazva is sen~enced to prison, surely the case must be appealed. If the case is appealed, it will drmand an additional expenditure of $3,000 at a minimum, it is estimated.

So far, ~2,000 has been raised and spent by the Africa Defense and Aid Fund of the ACOA on this case. Another $1,000 is necessary to fully cover the expenses of this trial. Conrad Lynn, the principle defense attorney, has given a great deal of his time, including the whole «eek durtna the trial and has only been partially com pensated for his work. The Dela>Iare attorney, James Gilliam, has not yet received anything from the Defense and Aid Fund.

Letters to Delaware officials have had an important effect in demonstrating the importance in this case and in expressing solidarity with the Zimbabweans. In dividual gifts are critical for covering the legal defense and we seek additional contributions to meet the remaining expenses. Welcome to Delaware? Blacks Get Smyrna 'Hospitality'

By WILLIAM HOFFMAN· arbitrary beatings; lynchings. Mangazva might still be in jail if it had Eight days ago a pair of blacks were The two men who were arrested were not been for the efforts of the NAACP's arrested in Harrington and hit with a Tapson Mawere ahd Muda M~ngazva. Wilbert Cooper of Dover, and a black variety of charges. One was charged Both belong to an .organization called bail bondsman named Thomas, the only with assault (if you're familiar with the Zimbabwe African National Union black bail bondsman south of the canal. these· things, that often means the ( ZANU), and that organization consists You can bet your life that if a white arrested man's of some of the bravest women and men Rhodesian "diplomat" (butcher' would groin attacked the in the world. be a better phrase) were arrested in cop's knee, or his Mawere is ZANU's chief represen Harrington, he would not have ended up head decided to tative to the United States, Canada, and in Smyrna prison. pick a fight with a the Carribbean. Both men are people Mawere and Mangazva came to nightstick), and who should be honored with parades America to garner support for the there were some through Delaware, not with being absolutely just struggle they and their other charges like thrown into the slammer. friends are waging against racism in hindering Zimbabwe is 96 per cent African, four Zimbabwe, and they ran intO racism in prosecution and per cent White. The whites rule with an this country. disorderly con iron hand, thanks in no small way to aid In fact, when Mangazva was released duct. they receivd from the U.S. from prison he was injured so badly he One of the Hoffman But, led by the heroes of ZANU and could not walk to the car that was blacks seemed to backed by the courageous Zimbabwe waiting for him. He had a puncture . have been pretty bably roughed up. people, the Africans are fighting back wound in his arm, his shirt was Eventually, he was taken to the against one of the most repressive bloodied, his pants were ripped. Now he hospital, but he refused treatment regimes mankind has ever been forced didn't do all these thin:gs to himself. It because they wanted to give him some to witness. And the Africans are win was a nightmare for Mangazva; it was shots and he didn't know what the shots ning. Their liberation struggle has as though he had found himself back in were for. · captured vast amounts of Zimbabwe Rhodesia. The two men ended up at the Smyrna · territory. The governor should be on hand to prison where, they say, they were; BACK TO MA WERE and Mangazva. greet Tapson Mawere and Muda stripped to their underwear and spent A good portion of the world regards Mangazva. the next time they return to the night in a cold cell in maxi.um these men the way many Americans Delaware; Instead, what they face is security. regard George Washington. But trial. Now all this pretty common fare. Some of the people in Harrington are still fighting the Civil War, and the HoHman Admirer Asks flagg they pay homage to is the Con federate one. Black people don't expect much ·in Harrington, and of course Delaware's prisons are packed with Where Were the Newsme black people. · BUT THIS CASE was a little dif ferent. The two blacks who were At Trial of Two Africans? .·arrested had friends who could spring·· Editor: Mangazva's swollen ankle, for their bail (most prisoners don't, and I admire William Hoffman for his knees, lacerated right shoulder and· many end up waiting for a trial in a ability and courage to write the news as dried blood stains on his shirt. He was place where it's very easy to be raped) it happens. in such pain that he could hardly walk. so, by and by, they got out. I refer to his editorial, "Blacks get The biased reports in the Delaware The two blacks turned out to be from Delaware Hospitality", which was State News and Wilmington Morning. a country named Zimbabwe in Africa, published in the Delaware State News, News Monday, June 9th, -did not seek better known to some Americans as Sunday, June 15th. · details from the jailed Africans or Rhodesia. Rhodesia is the most racist As Hoffman was phoned and asked to eyewitnesses. country on earth. It brand of apartheid help the two jailed Africans, he was Are they upholding the might and is deadly, and just a few weeks ago the present and informed of the events justice of the Harrington Police white segregationist government which occurred and reported the news. Department? murdered 13 Africans in cold blood. Of From whom did Staff Writer Don If this is so, then Nixon was justified course, they murder Africans every Glickstein, a reporter from Delaware in his suspicion and distrust of the pres:; day: through starv~tion, over-work. State News, and Wilmington Morning · and news reporters. News get their facts? Surely they WILBERT L. COOPER, President conflict with Hoffman's editorial. Central Branch N.A.A.C.P. Neither Staff Writer Don Glickstein Dover, Del. nor the Wilmington News Journal were present at Court 7 in Dover. Hoffman and I were present. I procured the bondsman, Mr. Solomon Thomas, wha obtained Mangazva's release from Delaware Corrections Center. His companion Mawere had been released earlier. F Hoffman and I were present and saw Rhodesian Lib Pair Arrested At Harrington

By DON GLICKSTEIN MUDA MANGAZBA TAPSON REVESAI MAWERE Staff Writer HARRINGTON - Two Rhodesian freedom fighters were arrested at a Harrington restaurant Saturday after an alleged beer-throwing and pushing two State Pollee troopers came. incident. · · The Zimbabweans version of the incident differs. "I don't know why I and my friend were arrested" said Tapson Revesai Mawere said they brought empty beer cans into the restaurant so they Mawere, who says he is the Chief Representative to the United States, could discard them. · . . .. Canada, and the Caribbean of the Zimbabwe African Nationalist Union The waitress refused to allow them to do so, and a man m civilian clothes (ZANU). tried to push Mangazba out of the resta~apt! Ma~ere. said. . Zimbabwe is the African name for the country controlled by the white .Manga~ba resisted because the man didn t identify himself as a police segregationist government of Rhodesia. officer, Mawere said.· . . . ZANU is a militant liberation group which claims to control a large portion Mawere was arrested for disorderly conduct and hm?e~mg prosecutl?n. of Rhodesian land. Mangazba was arrested for disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, third Harrington police chief Edward Layton said Mawere, 44 and Muda degree assault, and public intoxication. · . Mangazba, 38, who says he is ZANU's publicity secretary, were arrested for The two stayed overnight at Delaware Correctional Center. They were refusing to leave the Peoples Restaurant on U.S. 13 while drinking. released when ZANU supporters from Baltimore posted $250 bond for About 5 p.m., a Norfolk-bound bus pulled into the restaurant for repairs, Mawere ·and $745 bond for Mangazba. . according to police. Last week, another Zimbabwean representing a different group, James Police said Mawere and Mangazba entered the restaurant and were told Chilterama, claimed in a New York News conference that Mawere ~as not a by a waitress they coUld not drink there because the restaurant did not have real ZANU leader. · . a liquor license. . . Mawere said this morning Chikerama is a spokesman for the Zambian Pollee said Mawere and Mangazba then became rowdy, .began pourmg government which is collaboratin~ with the Rhodesians to suppress the beer around the restaurant, and poured Scotch into their coffee. ZANU freedom fighters...... , . Pollee said the restaurant then called for help, and one off-duty Harrington Harrington police said federallmffilgratlon officials will mvestigate the officer and another on-duty officer reported. case because Mawere and Mangazba did not have a visa ?r passport when A scuffle ensued and a window in a door was broken. they were arrested. Pollee said the two men told them their passports wer_e The pollee then called for more help and another Harrington officer and in New York. __ - Mawere said his passport was in his luggage in the bus, and he has not yet Continued on Page 2 been able to recover his luggage. The owner of the restaurant, Iris Brown, said the incident has been blown · all out of proportion. - She said the News-Journal papers misquoted her as saying the two men were boisterous and caused damage. _ . . She said she "quite often" must tell customers they can't drmk m the restaurant. "It's not allowed in here " she said: "I have payments to make on a mortgage, and I cannot aff~rd to Ipse n:tY license." State News & Daily Eagle, Sunday, June 29,1975- I Case of the Africans 20 . • • Morning News, Wilmington, Del., Thursday, June 12, 1975 Critic Wrong on U.S. NAACP protests Aid to Racist Regime

By DON GUCKSTEJN York lawyer who could not be there because of a previous Staff Writer conunitment. DOVER - With an entourage of supporters, their fired Redding asked Rash to transfer the proceedings to the Wihnington lawyer, and attacks on the Ameri~ judicial Court of Common Pleas. system and the press, two Zimbabwean representatives With the agreement of Deputy Atty. Gen. Kenneth returned to Dover Friday almost ·three weeks after their Abraham, Rash approved Redding's request. arrest in Harrington. Just as Rash adjourned the court, a tall, short-baited, Although the trial of Tapson A. Mawere and Muda white man wearing a blue shirt stood up and told Rash his Mangazva again was postponed for at least two weeks so it court has no jurisdiction in Mawere's case. could be transferred to a higher court, the action inside and As an official observor for ZANU at the United Nations, outside the Magistrate Court in Dover did not wane. Mawere has diplomatic immunity, the man told Rash. . Mawere and Mangazva were arrested June 7 and charged "This man (Mawere) was railroaded," the stranger said. -with a variety of offenses ranging from disorderly conduct to Rash, warning that he could cite the man for contempt, resisting arrest during an alleged beer-throwing incident in a quickly reconvened the court. Harrington restaurant .. Redding apologized for the man, whom he said was They claim they were victims of an unprovoked attack by Mawere's friend, and Rash finally concluded the hearing. Harrington police. The man later identified himself as Alan DeJardin, a The two are representatives of the Zimbabwe African · member of the "Baltimore Workshop for Non-Violence", a Nationalist Union (ZANU), a militant group trying to free the group which he said is trying to prevent Rhodesian chrome country commonly known as Rhodesia from its white from being unloaded at Baltimore docks. segregationist rulers. The United Nations has declared a boycott of Rhodesian Half-an-hour before the hearing was seheduled to begin, products, including chrome. · supporters from Norfolk, Va., New York, Baltimore, and Outside the courtroom, Mawere and Mangazva were Dover began assembling on the steps of the Magistrate Court talking to supporters. · -Dover's former railroad station. Redding, Mawere said, was fired because he advised the State witnesses also began to arrive, including three two to plead guilty to lesser charges. Harrington policemen carrying a paper shopping bag filled This the Zimbabweans refused to do because, Mawere · with evidence gathered from the incident at Harrington's said, they are innocent. Peoples Restaurant. Mawere told reporters that he thinks the American judicial r Soon after three p.m., a half-hour late, Manwere and system is "corrupt, absolutely corrupt." Later, he lit into reporters themselves, calling previous ( Mangazva arrived with Wihnington attorney Louis L. s .Redding. State News stories "distortions of the truth." The two Zimbabweans greeted their more than two dozen He was joined by Central Branch NAACP Pres. Wilbert supporters with raised fists and exuberant shouts of Cooper of Dover who announced, "I don't trust the white "pamber ne chimurenga," which is Shona language for press." "forward with the revolution." Back at Magistrate Court, however, State News columnist Photographers clicked away. William RoHman was being harangued by a white, short The tiny courtroom had 21 chairs plus the chair of Judge haired, 'middle-aged man who came to the court with Russell T. Rash. Harrington Police. Court officers stationed at the entrance to the room per The man threatened to "spill" HoHman's head if the mitted lawyers, three reporters, the defendants, police and columnist ever came to Harrington. an off-duty magistrate to enter the room before stopping an The man was restrained and led off by Harrington Police. accredited reporter from the Delaware Spectator and a part He described himself as "a citizen of Harrington, time reporter for the New York TJmes. Delaware, and I'm not in the Civil War." A Hoffman column about the Zimbabweans had accused The barred reporters as well as the Zimbabweans' sup Harrington of still f~hting the Civil War. porters vocally protested, saying if the courtroom was too Attorney Redding1 also was involved briefly in a quiet small, the trial should be moved. exchange with Zimbabwe slipporters. · Eventually, the reporters and a few supporters were ad· When he told the supporters that "you can't propagandize mitted and the door was closed. in a courtroom," supporters argued back that that is what The hearing began. judges do. · . Attorney Redding, Delaware's first black lawYer, told The two Zimbabweans are expected to be arraigned before Judge Rash the Zimbab)Veans fired him in favor of a New Common Pleas Judge Merrill C. Trader on July 11. Rhodesian case shifted ; outside, some commotion By Sam Waltz

• Dover Bureau 1 The firing of . , 1 attorney Louis .L. Redding, DOVER- Two New York City. ware's pioneer civil rights attor men who claim to represent a ney, by Maw are and Mangazba. revolutionary movement in white- , Redding represented Maware ruled Rhodesia yesterday had arid Mailgazba at the hearing, al their day in court here postponed though he had learned just for at least another 2 weeks. Wednesday that he was to be re- The two, who were arrested in a .. · placed by New Y.ork City attorney June 7 fracas in a Harrington cafe, , Conrad J. Lynn. Redding said asked that their case be transfer- Lynn was scheduled to be in anoth red from Magistrate Court 7, to er trial yesterday, and asked the the Kent County Court of Common postponement to Common Pleas in Pleas. Lynn's behalf. Judge Russell Rash agreed Under questioning by the judge, II.I.III after Asst. Att. Gen. Ken Abra- Maware said Redding hadn't been ham, who is prosecuting the case, representing the defendant's best agreed to the defense request. On interests. Later outside the court July 11 the two are expected tl:> be room he elaborated, saying they arraigned before Judge MerrUI C. disagreed with Redding's advice Trader. ' that they plead guilty to the lesser· Tapso A. Revesai Maware, ·who charges in order to get the others yesterday indentified himself as dropped. · an accredited "official observer" • A demonstration outside the at the United Nations representing magistrate's court building ·by the Zimbabwe African Nationalist about a dozen supporters of Ma Union (ZANU), is charged with ware and Mangazba. hindering prosecution and disor- • An exchange at the fringe of derly conduct. His $250 bail was the demostration in which a white continued. Muda Mangazba, Ma- Harrington man threatened Dela ware's cousin, who says he is. the ware Stata ·News' columnist Wil ZANU publicity director, had his liam Hoffman with, "I'll spill your $775 bail continued on charges of head," if Hoffman ever came to disorderly- conduct, resisting ar~~c:. Harrington. Hoffman had been .\ considered an ally. by. the ZANU · t blic intoxication and 3d-de- . supporters after his first column res 'P~sault · · t.;.,supported their cause. gr~~ is U:ying to overthrow the · · The incident came aft~r the h't minority rule of Rhodesian ZANU defendants and their sup- ;r:r:e Minister Ian Smi~ through Pwhite people," he added. SfaH Photo fly Chuck Snyder · A group gathered outside the Court of Common Pleas on Friday following the terven~on by the U.S. State Department wlll have no effect on tte prosecution arraignment of Tapson A. Mawere and Muda Mangazva, representatives of the of' the case. Gov. Sherman W. Tribbitt received a lettet from the Deputy .Zimbabwe Africail National Union. AUf. Gen. Richard W. Weir Jr. said in- Assistant Secretary fo.- African Affairs on behalf of the two . S~f!!~C: Fnfl~pf. C_oncern Expressed on ZANU By DON GUCKSTEIN vancement of United States policies." motions may cause a delay in the trial. Staff Writer James wrote that the· State Depart The lawyer for the two men, Conrad DOVER - The prosecution of two ment is concerned about "isolated J. Lynn of New York, could, not be black Rhodesians on charges stemming experience" which may distort con reached for comment immediately. But from a Harrington restaurant incident ditions from what they really are. he indicated earlier that he will ask for last month is a matter of "concern" to He concluded with a hope that the removal of the trial to Wilmington. the U.S. State Department, Gov. "processes ofjustice" in the Delaware Wilmington lawyer Louis L. Redding Shennan W. Tribbitt has been told. incident will be "in accord with our denied published reports he had been A June 25 lettet from Charles A. national objectives." Delaware fired by the Rhodesians, since he ha~ James, deputy Assistant Secretary for prosecutors could not be reached for never been the official "attorney of African Affairs, told Delaware's ·comment on the letter today. record" in the case. He merely assisted governor the arrest of the pair after a While supporters quietly crowded the Lynn, he said. scuffle with police "sUggests some doorway· to the Common Pleas cour Reports that he recommended plea disturbing overt011es." troom in Dover this morning, Judge bargaining to the two men were also The two, Tapson A. Mawere, 44, and Merrill C. Trader set,a trial by jury for incorrect, Redding said. He only told Muda Mangazva, 38, pleaded not guilty July 29. " ' ' the two men of an offer from the at in Dover this morning to charges He noted, however, that pretrial torney general's office, he said. stemming from .the June 7 incident. They were arrested after a bus they were riding frc)m New York to Norfolk, . Va. stopped for repairs in Harrington. Police were summoned after the management of the restaurarit warned the pair they could not consume alcoholic beverages on the premises, police said. The men are self-avowed members of .the Zimbabwe· African Nationalist .Union (ZANU), a militant black group. seeking contn;Jl of white-dominated Rhodesia. . "We are concerned that foreign nationals living in or visiting the United States receive complete . fairness and respect in our culture and under our system of laws," James wrote. "Negative impressions of U.S. society or laws can ultimately produce a lack of understanding at best, and a hostility at worst, in other countries around the · world, thereby causing a disservice to ·United States interests and ad- 12 • • Morning~. Wilmington, Del., Saturday, July·12, 1975 'U.S. officials concerned about Africans' trial From the Dover Bureau spect in our culture and under our .A U.S. State Department official system of laws,'' the June 25letter has written Gov. Sherman W. said in part. Tribbitt suggesting the arrest of "I have no reason whatsoever to two men who claim to represent a ·believe that any person anywhere South African revolutionary in the world is not going to receive movement may have some "dis a fair hearing imder our judicial turbing overtones." system,'' Tribbitt responded. But Tribbitt said yesterday he The men claim to be representa has· "absolutely no reservations" tives of the Zimbabwe African Na about the ability of the two black tionalist Union, (ZANU), which is Rhodesian liberation group mem seeking to overthrow the rule of bers to get a fair trial in Delaware. white Prime Minister Ian Smith. The pair, Tapson A. Mawere, 44, ;rhe men had been on a speaking and Mu~a Mangazwa, 38, entered tour when the bus they were riding not guilty pleas yesterday morn stopped at Harrington and they ing to several charges stemming entered a small restaurant there. from their June 7 arrest at a Har According to local officials, police rington Restaurant. were sum.moned after the man The attontey ~or the two Afri agement warned them they could cans was given 10 days yesterday not consume alcoholic beverages by a Kent County Superior Court . on the premises. judge to file briefs justifying their The two pleaded innocent to request to move the trial to Wil• charges including disorderly con- Qlington. duct and resisting arrest. . ''In Wilmington, there are more Shortly after their arrest they blacks. We would have more of a claimed that they had been the c'hance to get blacks on the jury," victims of police brutality, but the said Conrad C. Lynn, a black New state attorney general's. office York lawyer representing the two said its investigation of the arrest men. showed no evidence of that. Judge Merrill C. Trader set the Tribbitt said he would respond jury trial for July 29, although he to James letter and yesterday re said the pretrial motions might ceived a l'eport from the head of delay it. the state police on the incident, but The State Department letter hadn't yet had time to read it. came from Charles A. James, Several blacks and whites deputy assistant secretary of state demonstrated outside the court for African affairs. "We are con house in support of Mawere and cerned that foreign nationals liv Mangazwa shortly before noon ing or visiting in the United States yesterday. Both men are free on re~eive complete fairness and re- bail. Trial Of Two Africans $kfevew.S .JqA/t f>~'Y 13 The Concern of All Minorities By WILLIAM HOFFMAN They don't want· a Delaware lawyer. One year short of two centuries is a The trial of the two Mricans, Muda · But they have to pay one anyway~ long time to bave to .fight for justice. azva and Tapson Mawere, was Under this sort of arrangement you .ned again Friday. This is the LET ME TELL YOU a little abOut the lose even if you win. You get arrested, third ~e they have been to Delaware; two Mricans who came to America to have to post bond, go through the fight racism and ran into racism in this =the first wa~ tQ get arrested, the second rigmarole of expensive hearings and an two were in country. expensive trial: it's estimated that the . Muda Mangazva is an economics cormection with whole show will cost $2,700. the-charges. teacher at Hostos Community College These two men This trial is not just about the rights . in the Bronx. He is a graduate of the live a long way of two brave Mricans fighting the mQSt University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. from Delaware. It racist regime in the world. It's a trial candidate at the New School for Social costs money to get that concerns all black people and 'Research. • here, money for national minorities. Tapson Mawere is a graduate of lawyers - they If two representatives of ·a whole Cornell with a degree in agricultural have to pay a liberation movement can be thrown engineering. He works full-time for the Delaware lawyer into the slammer and put through this cause of freedom for his people in as well as their legal monstrosity, it's easy to see what Zimbabwe. own New York Hoffman can happen to average. black people. These are the two dangerous men the attorney. What's the purpose of this? Most blacks would still be in jail. state claims assaulted six poUcemeJ1. Conrad Lynn, an outstanding civil - rights lawyer, is handling the defense of ...... Mangazva and Mawere. The court evidently feels that this man who practices in front of the U.S. Supreme Court needs help from a Delaware laWYer. Won't Bow What is needed, if the phrase "trial Wier by your peers" is not to be a joke, is an all-black jury. Of course, there shouldn't be any trial at all. Mangazva and Mawere have gott~ a good deal of support from all over the J:o State Dept. east and south, and even from Chicago and San Francisco. Progressive DOVER - Atty. Gen. Richard R. arguments by then. longshoremen on east coast ports have Wier Jr. said intervention by the U.S. The two have denied the charges and been · refusing to unload Rhodesian State Departme~t in the case of t'!o have ~aid they were victims of police chrome, and have really put a dent in black Rhodesians arrested m brut~lity, but a statement from Wier's · the exports of Ian Smith's disgusting .Harrington will have no effect on the office last month declared those apartheid government. .. ·case's prosecution. charges groundless. "We're treating this like any other THE AFRICANS are supported by •criminal case, and we certainly won't James' letter to Tribbitt said the black professors and students at bow to external pressure to treat it any . State Department is concerned QVer Southern University who were the differently," Wier said. "isolated incidents" that distort images people who sparked the first boycott of Wier was referring to a letter written ~of America and do not serve American chrome from Rhodesia. .. by the Deputy Assistant Secretary for interests. TapsonMawere.and Muda Mangazva Mrican Affairs, Charles A. James, to Mawere and Mangazva are should be honored by the people of this Gov. Sherman W. Tribbitt on behalf of representatives of t~c! Zimbabwe state. They are genuine heroes. Tapson A. Mawere and Muda Mrican National Union.. a guerrilla Mawere has gone into the deep south, Mangazva who were arrested June 7 in group trying to liberate the country and right in the heart of Klan country a Harrington restaurant. commonly known as Rhodesia from its has spoken to black people, in the finest ' The men, arraigned Friday, were white segregationist rulers. tradition of people struggling for charged with a variety of offenses Governor Tribbitt said of the letter dignity. ranging from disorderly conduct to "I h ave no reason whatsoever to' The Africans need funds. The ex assault. Ajury trial in Court of Common believe that any person anywhere in the pense of the trial necessarily cuts down Pleas. in Dover has been set for July 29, world is not going to receive a fair on the money they have to travel the pendmg completion of -written hearing unde,r our judicial system." country in behalf of the Zimbabwe people. Contributi!>lls can be sent to the American Committee on Mrica, 164 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10016. 2.- State News & Daily Eagle, Thursday, July 24, 1975 ZANU Lawyer Asks

Dislnissal. of Charges By DON GLICKSTEIN to a Lynn affadavit. The lawyer described the Zim StaffWriter Deputy Atty. Gen. Kenneth babweans as "refugees from racial and DOVER - Citing pre-trial publicity Abraham, the prosecutor, actually political repression." and "hopelessly .tainted" charges the issued the statement after what he said A hearing on Lynn's motions will lawyer for two black Rhodesians was an investigation into the police probably be held July 29, the scheduled arrested in Harrington has asked the brutality charges at the request of trial date, according to Judge Trader. Delaware Court of Common Pleas to Attorney General Richard R. Wier Jr. The trial date may be postponed, he . dismiss the charges against them. Because of the statement, the said, but added that he has received no In lieu of a dismissal, the trial, now ·defendants' chances of getting a fair request for a postponement from either scheduled for July 29, should be moved . tria!are "fatally impaired," Lynn said. of the lawyers. out of Dover, New York attorney Conrad J. Lynn asked Judge Merrill C.. Trader in motions filed this week. The Rhodesians, Tapson· A. Mawere · and Miida Mangazva, were aiTested Africans Haunted by June. 7 and charged with offenses 1 ranging from hindering prosecution to disorderly conduCt and assault stem ming from an incident in a HarringtOn I Ritual Disclaimers restaurant. By PATRICIA HOFFMAN disclaimers: "Tapson Mawere and The men are presentatives of the _. Staff Writer Muda Mangazva, claiming to be Zilnbabwe .African National .Union Newswise, some people rate, and representatives for ZANU, an (ZANU), a militant group trying to some don't. organization purporting to be. . .etc." overthrow the . · white· segregationist A case in point. Consider the saga of In the first few days when the case goverrunent of RhodeSia. Lynn says the. the two Africans _, there seems to be was developing, such uncertainty and group has official observor status at the. . general agreement on their origins; at tentativeness were understandable. Uiiited Nations. ·. least - who were arrested in But surely enough time has now Zimbabwe is the African name for Harrington, lo those many moons ago. elapsed for newspeople to identify them tulodesia. _ For weeks their case has been by name and title without all- this Lynn, in his cou~ motions, also asked. Iprominently featured on the pages of rigmarole. the . prosecuting . Attorney General's ~area newspapers, and in publications Other public figures aren't put office for a detailed bill of particulars as far southwest as Washington. But through this hassle. One doesn't see on facts surrounding the case. hardly ever are the two men referred .to Henry Kissinger, say, referred to as the The bill of particulars should include .· imply by name and title. whether any-.electrpnic eavesdropping . Instead, readers get the ritual Continued on Page 7 devices were used against the two men, whether an alcohol detection test was 1 given them, and :whether any police · received medical attention. "alleged Secretary of State.'' If the Attorney General is not forced But suppose this same diffidence by the court to make a bill of par were indeed applied to oth~r ticulars, the defendants risk· en- ' newsworthy happenings. An un countering ''the fabrication of events to K sentimental reporter, steeled to give accord with local prejudice, " Lynn . " only the facts as he sees them, might said. I file the following dispatch: The· two Zimbabweans claim they . "(WASHINGTON, D.C.) A man were "brutally assaulted by so-called c calling himself the president of Mexico peace officers," according to a Lynn t was received on the 'White House iawn u affadavit. A yesterday by Gerald R. Ford: who Mawere is •charged with hindering II claims to be president of the ll.S. The prosecution. Mangazva is charged with self-styled Mexican leader, one Luis public intoxication, resisting arrest, Echeverria, was accompanied by a assault and disorderly conduct. A I woman reputed to be his wife, and also charge of disorderly conduct against by two of their alleged children. The Mawere was dropped. Echeverrias are making what is The chief contribution to the pre-trial reported to be a state visit to publicity was a statement by "the Washington, and will remain here for Attorney, the chief officer of law en four days, according to Ron Nessen, forcement in the State of Delaware ... in who, when questioned, identified which he expressed confidence that the himself as White· House pre:>.s police had acted properly," according secretary." I Keep My Powder Dry

12 NEWS WEEK, WEEK OF JULY 17-23, 1975 Bv Jack Costello-

---··--·-··-- ·-"' .. ilfo~----· BLACKS WANT BLACK INK: Chapter two in the Big Put-On was played out in Common Pleas Court here last week. The two Black Rhodesians who got themselves arrested last month in Harrington showed up with their. New York lawyer and got a jury trial set for July 29 and probably a change of location, to Wilmington. T~., lawyer, who, no doubt, never heard of Dover before he arrived here last week, made an immediate analysis that a black couldn't get a fair trial here. and ·Wilmington would be better because more blacks would be · on a jury up there . . After watching the two revolutionaries perform every time a camera was ·turned on them (sec the picture page) it strikes me that this whole thing is a phony. They certainly knew, having been in this country. for years, that one cannot bring alcoholic beverages into a diner. They were arrested to draw publicity to their cause, which is to forcibly overthrow the white government of Rhodesia. Now they want to go to Wilmington, where the courtroom will be bigger, and they'll be able to draw more bleeding-heart pickets who will demand justice. And there will be more reporters ... and cameras. *** State News & Daily Eagle, Sunday, June 29,1975- I Case of the Africans 20 . • • Morning News, Wilmington, Del., Thursday, June 12, 1975 Critic Wrong on U.S. NAACP protests Aid to Racist Regime

Harrington case By WILLIAM HOFFMAN course, would be no trial. The central Delaware branch of ~ould not drink be~ause the place Some fellow named Toady from Two different people · employed at the NAACP has added its voice to did not have.a liquor license. Greenwood, Del., has been. writing to Court No. 7 called the two Africam a growing protest over treatment Maware, of Jamaica, Long Is this newspaper pooh.poohing the case "boys." . of two Rhodesians arrested in land, N.Y., could not be contacted of the two Africans who were arrested Also, at the court hearing,. reporters Harrington over the weekend. last night. Cooper said he and ·June 7 after an incident in a restaurant had a tough time getting in. Wilbert .. Wilbert L. Cooper, president of aides went to Delaware Correc at Harrington. Cooper who writes for the Delaware the Kent County branch of the Na- tional Center, near Smyrna, Sun Today is saying Spectator almost didn't make it, and so tiona! Association for the ·Ad- day morning after the pair was that he's been in did a reporter representing the New · vancement of Colored People, said ·released under bail following an touch with some York Times. last night the cases against Tap- _ all-night stay: white Rhodesians. "I hope the guy from the Times son A. Revasai Maw are and Muda Cooper said Mangazba was The Rhodesians doesn't get in," said one of the sup Mangazba will probably be trans- barely able to walk, and had a evidently told him porters of the Afric~s. "Then there Jerred to a higher court after a deep ~ash on his right shoulder. that the two hearing at Dover's Magistrate He satd Mangazba told them he really will be a story." . · Africans re· . The judge came to his senses and Court 7tomorrow. . was kept in a room with "maxi- present a ter ·Maware, according · to police mum' security" written o~ the finally let the guy in. However, this rorist organi- columnist was not allowed in, although and local black leaders, is repre- door, an? f?rced to sleep m the . zation that sentative to the United Nations cold cell m hts underwear. Barbara Miller, a magistrate, was. kills other Hoffman and Can~da o~ the Zi~babwe Afri- Cooper said the NAACP will Now Barbara Miller is a fine person, Africans. and maybe she'll write something can :t:Jahon~hst Umon (Z~NU), seek legal aid for the pair, and Toady then said the U.S. does not give ~n~ h1~ cousm, Mangazba, ts pub- urge investigation of the treat about what went on, but she herself said aid to the racist Rhodesian govern she was only there out of. curiosity. lictty dtrecto.r. . " . ment of Mangazba by police and ment. Nothing could be further from Coope~ said Ma;ware IS a b~g corrections officials. the truth. - There were a large number of people wheel" m the movement to gam who showed up and a large number who control of Rhodesia for its black Rhodesia iS openly running ad Maw are and Ma~gazba say they vertisements asking for white mer didn't get in, thougn trials are supposed masses, now ruled by the white have been in -the ,U.S. since 1962 supremacist administration of l$1n cenaries to come and fight for the to be open to the public. If the room is promoting ZANlJ. -Other Rhode too small, they should get a bigger on~. Smith. sian liberation groups claim Ma apartheid govermnent of Ian Smith. Last Saturday night, Maware ware is not an official representa These are American newspapers, and it Back to Toady. He doesn't even try to and Mangazba were on their way tive to the U.N., and U.N. officials is clear the U.S. govermnent could stop red-bait, he comes right out and ac to Norfolk, Va. for a speaking en yesterday were at a loss to explain ·the ads if it wanted. Can anyone cuses this columnist of being· a Com gagement, when they were arrest the status of the two men. imagine a U.S. ,newspaper being munist. Toady should let his readers ed by :Harrington police on a spate ·allowed to run an ad for mercenaries to know if he is a member of the Fascist of charges, including disorderly Delaware members of the Con fight agains\ the Smith regime? John Birch Society, or maybe some conduct and resisting arrest. gress of African Peoples and the The United Nations is officially reporter who he likes to criticize will do A melee ensued after the two NAACP say ~hey have heard Ma boycotting Rhodesian chrome. Most the job for him. · . . , men allegeqly took liquor into a ware's lectures before, and veri- Toady said the wire services didn t restaurant, and were told they ' fied Maware's diplomatic status, nations "in the world honor this boycott, but not the U.S. If the U.S. did honor the cover the case. Amazing! The boycott the Smith govermnent would Associated Press was at the trial. ·- -- fall in a matter of weeks. Ergo, Toady Anyway, the day was an interesting is wrong when he says the U.S. gives no one. Some provacateur wanted to fight; aid to the racists in Rhodesia. there were loads of plainclothes cops, The case of ,:the Africans came to and even a picket line outside the court. Court No... 7 Friday and was transferred The 20th Century is catching up with, to another court. The only fair trial, of Delaware. Trial Of Two Africans $kfevwS .JqA-~, ft~IY 1.3 The Concern of All Minorities By WILLIAM HOFFMAN They don't want a Delaware lawyer. One year short of two centuries is a The trial of the two Africans, Muda · But they have to pay one anyway. long time to have to .fight for justice. ~gazva. and Tapson Mawere, was Under this sort of arrangement you LET ME TELL YOU a little abOut the pos~oned again Friday. This is the lose even if you win. You get arrested, third tune they have been to Delaware; two Africans who came to America to have to post bond, go through the fight racism and ran into racism in this ~ the first was tQ get arrested, the second rigmarole of expensive hearings and an two were in country. expensive trial: it's estimated that the Muda Mangazva is an economics cormection with whole show will cost $2,700. the -charges. teacher at Hostos Community College these two men This trial is not just about the rights . in the Bronx. He is a graduate of the live a long way of two brave Africans fighting the mQst University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. from Delaware. It racist regime in the world. It's a trial candidate at the New School for Social costs money to get that concerns all black people and 'Research. • here, money for national minorities. Tapson Mawere is a grac;t.uate of lawyers - they If two representatives of a whole Cornell with a degree in agricultural have to pay a liberation movement can be thrown engineering. He works full-time for the Delaware la'wyer into the slammer and put through this cause of freedom for his people in as well as their legal monstrosity, it's easy to see what Zimbabwe. own New York Hoffman can happen .to average. black people. These are the two dangerous men the attOrney. What's the purpose of this? Most blacks would still be in jail. state claims assaulted six policeme11. Conrad Lynn, an outstanding civil rights lawyer, is handling the defense of - ...... Mangazva and Mawere. The court evidently feels that this man who practices in front of the U.S. Supreme Court needs help from a Delaware lawyer. Wier Won't Bow What is needed, if the phrase "trial by your peers" is not to be a joke, is an all-black jury. Of course, there shouldn't be any trial at all. Mangazva and Mawere have gottep. a good deal of support from all over the State Dept. east and south, and even from Chicago !o and .San Francisco. Progressive DOVER - Atty. Gen. Richard R. arguments by then. longshoremen on east coast ports have Wier Jr. said inte~ention by the U.S. The two have denied the charges and been · refusing to unload Rhodesian state Department m the case of two have said they were victims of police chrome, and have really put a dent in }!lack Rhodesians arrested in brut~lity, but a statement from Wier's · the exports of Ian Smith's disgusting ·Harrington will have no effect on the office last month declared those apartheid government. . case's prosecution. charges groundless. "We're treating this like any other THE AFRICANS are supported by •criminal case, and we certainly won't James' letter to Tribbitt said the black ·professors and students at bow to external pressure to treat it any . State Department is concerned over Southern University who were the differently," Wier said. "isolated incidents" that distort images people who sparked the first boycott of Wier was referring to a letter written •of America and do not serve American chrome from Rhodesia. ·· by the Deputy Assistant Secretary for interests. Tapson Mawere ·and Muda Mangazva African Affairs, Charles A. James, to Mawere and Manga~va are should be honored by the people of this Gov. Sherman W. Tribbitt on behalf of representatives of t~c! Zimbabwe state. They are genuine heroes. Taps on A. Maw ere· and Muda African National Union .. a guerrilla Mawere has gone into the deep south, Mangazva who were arrested June 7 in group trying to liberate the country and right in the heart of Klan country a Harrington restaurant. commonly known as Rhodesia from its has spoken to black people, in the finest 'The men, arraigned Friday were white segregationist rulers. tradition of people struggling for charged with a variety of offenses Governor Tribbitt said of the letter dignity. ranging from disorderly conduct to "I h ave no reason whatsoever to' The Africans need funds. The ex assault. Ajurytrial in Court of Common believe that any person anywhere in the pense of the trial necessarily cuts down Pie~ in Dover has been set for July 29, world is not going to receive a fair on the money they have to travel the pendmg completion of written hearing under our judicial systelll:." country in behalf of the Zimbabwe people .. Contributions can be sent to the American Committee on Africa, 164 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10016.