BAIL hearing for jailed MDC Alliance vice chair, Job Sikhala continued Tuesday with the firebrand politician taking to the witness’s stand before a Harare magistrate to deny both being violent and fugitive from justice. Sikhala is facing charges of inciting the public to commit violence. Said the opposition legislator in court, “The struggle for social justice has never been fought on the plane of violence and the State should not invite me to a territory which I’m not part of.” Sikhala told court he was a good bail candidate insisting he was once granted bail on subversion charges and never defaulted. The lawmaker said he never defaulted bail in any of the past 64 cases that have been brought against him by the state. Contrary to police allegations tha
Jailed prominent journalist Hopewell Chin’ono is reportedly unwell and has sent a distress call to his former lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa in a bid to get his doctor urgently. Chin’ono is said to have sent the message through MDC Alliance national deputy chairperson Job Sikhala who asked his lawyer Harrison Nkomo to immediately call Beatrice to advise her of the situation. Chin’ono has been since the 20th of July been in prison following his arrest for inciting public violence after he allegedly urged the citizenry to participate in the foiled 31 July anti-government protests. His lawyers say he has since then been surviving on biscuits and water after prison authorities barred them from getting warm food from outside. He has been cautious not to eat from prepared in pr
A Harare magistrate yesterday heard that opposition MDC Alliance vice-chair Job Sikhala was not a suitable candidate for bail as he had evaded police for over six weeks before he was eventually found hiding in the ceiling of a Tynwald, Harare house, which served as his hideout. Lead investigator Collen Makore told the court that they stormed the house last Friday armed with three AK47 assault rifles and a pistol after receiving reports that the opposition leader and his accomplices had machetes and were manufacturing petrol bombs at the property. “While inside, we searched and found nothing and as we were going out we saw footprints on the wall and a panel removed from the ceiling,” Makore said. “We then asked who it was, threatening to throw a smoke canister and
Woes mount for the controversial self-styled popular Malawian prophet Shepherd Bushiri of the Enlightened Christian Gathering (ECG) Church. He is in another eye of the storm after explosive details of rape allegations leveled against him by two women of his church emerged and were aired on ETV Channel this Wednesday evening. Major1, as Bushiri is affectionately known by his followers, has furiously denied the salacious allegations. He accused the law enforcement agents of extortion and for intimidating women and children to come up with false rape allegations against him and his church members. As per clips aired on ETV last Wednesday, events leading to the unfortunate drama are such that the “Man of God” was in the habit of calling women from his church for private
A Zimbabwean court on Monday denied bail for the third time to Hopewell Chin’ono, a journalist who was arrested last month on charges of inciting public violence over anti-government protests. Chin’ono, used Twitter to support anti-corruption movements and exposed corruption in the government tenders for COVID-19 personal protective equipment. He also criticized President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration. Chin’ono and Jacob Ngarivhume, president of the Transform Zimbabwe party, were arrested last month when they called for the removal of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party alleging inefficiency in administration. The inflation rate is more than 700 percent, which has led to political tensions across the country. Mnanga
The Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services has barred Beatrice Mtetwa from visiting jailed journalist Hopewell Chinono. Mtetwa who was blocked from representing Chinono in court by a Harare Magistrate attempted visiting “her client” at the complex but was barred by the prison authorities. The authorities have since written the letter below to Mtetwa:
ACTIVIST journalist Hopewell Chin'ono, who is being charged with inciting public violence, has been denied bail for the third time, with Harare magistrate Ngoni Nduna saying his release from remand prison could cause the unconstitutional removal of Zanu-PF from power. Nduna ruled that the changed circumstances that Chin'ono submitted were not convincing as the submissions were the same as in the previous bail attempt. The magistrate further ruled that it was illegal for the lower court to review its initial findings on the dismissal of the bail. "Even if the court found it out that there are new circumstances, it is not a guarantee that this court will grant bail because there are other fears that have been submitted. The court took judicial notice that the coronaviru
MDC Alliance Vice Chairperson Job Sikhala has testified that he was threatened with death by Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) Assistant Commissioner George Mutimbanyoka. Mutimbanyoka allegedly threatened Sikhala on several occasions including telling him that he was going to die in prison and should provide the name of his next of kin so that they inform him/her as soon as he dies. Sikhala has also complained about the place he is being kept in prison. He says he is being kept in Section D, where convicted hard criminals are kept. The Court has been told that the Section has also seen a number of deaths due to Covid-19. He was also kept in leg irons and handcuffs. Sikhala told the court that he no longer feels safe at Chikurubi Maximum Prison
HARARE, Zimbabwe -- A Zimbabwean journalist who has been held in prison for more than a month has been denied bail for the third time, while police continue arresting government critics. Journalist Hopewell Chin’ono should remain in jail, a Harare magistrate ruled Monday. Chin'ono is awaiting trial for allegedly encouraging people to participate in an anti-government demonstration planned for July 31, but which was foiled by police and military. He has been in custody since his arrest on July 20. His trial date has not yet been set but he will return to court for a routine remand hearing in September. “I will be strong. I am fine,” said Chin’ono from inside a prison van as he arrived at court Monday. Roslyn Hanzi, one of his lawyers, said prison autho
MDC Alliance national vice-chairperson Job Sikhala, who was arrested on Friday, will spend the weekend behind bars after the court threw out his application for refusal to be placed on remand. Sikhala, who is facing charges of inciting the public to stage violent demonstrations on July 31, appeared in court this Saturday. In opposing Sikhala’s application, the state told the court that there are in possession of video and audio clips that prove that the MDC Alliance official committed a crime. The state also said inciting people to stage violent street demonstrations violates the country’s constitution after his defence counsel had earlier on argued that the MDC Alliance official was exercising his constitutional right as enshrined in the law of the land. Sikhala through
