The magistrate dismissed the request from the 37-year-old Zimbabwean freelancer's lawyers, saying the state had provided enough evidence against him.
The case must now be tried in a proper trial, where Mr. Moyo will have to present witnesses.
Before the request for release last month, the court had heard only five witnesses called by the prosecution.
"Unfortunately, the magistrate considered that the State had provided enough evidence for Jeffrey Moyo to be implicated", declared his lawyer Kathleen Mpofu at the end of the hearing, saying she was ready to "present our own witnesses to challenge these charges".
Arrested in May, then released on bail three weeks later, Mr. Moyo is accused of having obtained for Christina Goldbaum and Joao Silva, journalists also working for the NYT, false accreditations for a week-long report.
The Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC), which accredits media, said the journalists were denied permission to work in the country because they did not get written approval from the Ministry of Information. as is usual practice.
The defense challenged this argument, saying that the ZMC, an autonomous body, could make independent decisions without government interference.
Zimbabwe has a long and fraught relationship with the foreign press, which it banned from working in the early 2000s for long periods of time, forcing journalists to seek accreditation for each assignment.
The law has since been repealed, but the regulations remain in effect.
© 2022 AFP