By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Newsunplug KenyaNewsunplug KenyaNewsunplug Kenya
  • News
    • Metro
    • Politics
    • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Sports
  • Tech
  • Spotify
Reading: Jailed Zimbabwe Opposition Figure Sikhala Set Free
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Newsunplug KenyaNewsunplug Kenya
Font ResizerAa
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Sports
  • Tech
  • Spotify
  • News
    • Metro
    • Politics
    • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Sports
  • Tech
  • Spotify
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
© 2022 Foxiz News Network. Ruby Design Company. All Rights Reserved.
Newsunplug Kenya > Blog > News > Jailed Zimbabwe Opposition Figure Sikhala Set Free
NewsPolitics

Jailed Zimbabwe Opposition Figure Sikhala Set Free

hallanaija
Last updated: January 31, 2024 8:53 am
hallanaija
1 year ago
Share
SHARE

Zimbabwean opposition politician Job Sikhala, who has spent more than a year-and-a-half in prison, was released Tuesday after a Harare court handed him a suspended sentence.

An outspoken and popular government critic, Sikhala, 51, was one of the most prominent figures to be arrested in recent years in what rights groups have described as a crackdown on dissent in the country.

“This was an act of persecution,” Sikhala told a local media crew after being let out of a maximum-security prison on the outskirts of Harare in the evening.

“These people who have kept me in this prison for a long time should understand that my determination to pay any price for the love of my country is beyond reproach”.

A former lawmaker, Sikhala was convicted of inciting public violence last week at the end of a year-long trial that supporters said was politically motivated.

Another opposition member of parliament, Godfrey Sithole, was also found guilty of the same charges and both were handed a two-year suspended sentence on Tuesday.

A small crowd of supporters chanted and danced in celebration on the court’s steps after the verdict was read out.

READ MORE  Ichung'wah instructs Ruto to "shake off the snake in your government."

Sikhala, wearing a white polo shirt, suggested he was hurriedly let go by prison officials under the cover of darkness.

“These people sneaked me totally out,” he is seen telling one of his lawyers standing on the side of a dimly lit road in video footage published by the NewsHawks media outlet. “I was dumped here”.

His lawyers had earlier said he was to be released on Wednesday morning and had asked supporters to come greet him outside the penitentiary.

Sikhala and Sithole were convicted of inciting supporters to avenge the death of their political ally Moreblessing Ali, who was murdered by a ruling party activist in May 2022. Sikahla denied the charges.

It wasn’t the first brush with the law for the firebrand politician, whose long and troubled political career includes more than 60 arrests, according to his lawyers.

The last one came June 2022 for a speech he gave at a memorial service for Ali, whose mutilated body was found in a well days earlier.

He has been behind bars since, having unsuccessfully applied for bail more than a dozen times.

READ MORE  Kwale Governor Fatuma Achani calls for a crackdown on juvenile gangs in Diani.

‘Horrific injustice’

“The fact that he has been denied bail and kept in custody all this time is a horrific injustice,” said Douglas Coltart, a defence lawyer.

One of Zimbabwe’s top rights lawyers, Coltart has himself been in legal trouble recently.

In September, he was arrested after objecting to police questioning two of his clients in hospital. Charges against him were dropped last week.

Critics have long accused the ruling Zanu-PF, in power since independence in 1980, of using the courts to silence opposition voices.

Despite his many arrests, Sikhala had previously been convicted only once in 2023 on obstruction of justice charges spanning from the same memorial service speech.

Coming ahead of presidential and legislative elections in August, that verdict disqualified him from running to retain his seat in parliament.

Prosecutors alleged that by blaming Zanu-PF for the murder, he had diverted investigations focused on other suspects. The ruling was later overturned in appeal.

Zanu-PF won both the presidential and legislative vote in August in an election that the opposition described as fraudulent and international observers said fell short of democratic standards.

READ MORE  Kenya demands action to compel Sudan factions to dialogue
Drone assaults on Russia by the Ukraine claimed one life.
Kiptum Rose Against All Odds To Become Champion – Ruto
#OccupyJesusWinner: Kenyans threaten protest at Pastor Edward Mwai’s church after hefty Ruto donation
US Gifts DCI Vehicles to Hunt Down Drug Traffickers [PHOTOS]
Raila Odinga tells supporters to be ready for protests after failed bipartisan talks
Share This Article
Facebook Email Print
Previous Article Cote D’Ivoire Interim Boss Fae Eyes Further Glory After Senegal Upset
Next Article AfDB wants Kenya, Tanzania electricity deals finalised
Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

about us

We influence 20 million users and is the number one business and technology news network on the planet.

Recent Posts

  • NPS ‘on high alert to avoid false reports’ after inconsistency in Ojwang’s death account
  • President Ruto signs MOUs with University of Nottingham, King’s College London
  • #EPL: Desperately sad news – Piers Morgan reacts to death of Diogo Jota
  • Tragic aftermath of Liverpool star, Diogo Jota’s Lamborghini fireball that claimed his life and that of his brother (photos)
  • Hiding or abducted? Mixed reactions as missing blogger Ndiang’ui Kinyagia resurfaces

Recent Comments

No comments to show.
Newsunplug KenyaNewsunplug Kenya
© Newsunplug Kenya. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?