"The high court upheld the magistrates court bail conditions that he pays 100 US dollars bail, he resides at his house and that he does not interfere with states witnesses," his lawyer Josphat Tshuma told AFP on Saturday.

Nqobani Ndlovu was granted bail on Friday after his lawyer went to the High Court to enforce an earlier magistrates decision granting the journalist bail.

Ndlovu was arrested on November 17 when he handed himself over to police following a complaint to the Bulawayo-based independent newspaper The Standard.

The journalist only appeared in court after his lawyer obtained an order for his case to be heard.

Zimbabwe's war veterans are a group loyal to President Robert Mugabe and were at the forefront of seizures of farms owned by whites. They have been criticised by rights groups for voter intimidation.

Media in Zimbabwe has been operating under stringent rules over the past decade, with several newspapers forced to shut down and journalists harassed by the police.

http://www.timeslive.co.za/africa/article786554.ece/Zimbabwe-journalist-charged-with-defamation-free-on-bail