Harare, Zimbabwe
When the police arrested Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) deputy chairperson Job Sikhala in June , it seemed he would free in no time. After all, this would be his 67th arrest since entering mainstream politics in 1999 when the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the main opposition in the troubled Southern African country, was formed.
In all the previous arrests, Sikhala had successfully escaped conviction. Now, more than 70 days after his arrest, Sikhala is yet to taste freedom.
Several applications for bail by his attorneys have been rejected by the state. Last week, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) proposed September 6 as the day for trial commencement, a request that was challenged by his lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa.
Sikhala is but the latest victim of illegal and lengthy detentions in Zimbabwe in recent months. Indeed, several opposition figures and those perceived to be a thorn in the Zanu PF regime’s flesh have found themselves enduring such ordeals. For example, anti-corruption activist and award winning journalist Hopewell Chin’ono spent 45 days in jail when he was arrested and charged with inciting violent anti-government protests organized by the opposition in 2020. Many believe that the publication of a corruption expose on social networks, incriminating top government officials and linking the son of the President to a corrupt $60 million acquisition of Covid 19 protective equipment for health workers, triggered his arrest.
He is not the only one.
Others such as Jacob Ngarivhume, an opposition leader, have also suffered the same fate.
Makomborero Haruzivishe, an opposition activist, also spent 14 months in jail on charges of inciting public violence and resisting arrest.
Zimbabwe National Students Union president, Takudzwa Ngadziore, was in March last year released on bail after spending 30 days in prison for protesting at the premises of a car rental firm that hired out a vehicle to individuals who kidnapped and tortured a journalism student in Bulawayo, the country’s second largest city. He had appeared in court 22 times without trial before the magistrate ruled his right to a fair trial was being undermined.
The list, of course, is long and growing.
Under Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s founding ruler — who reigned over Zimbabwe with an iron fist for 37 years until he was toppled in a military coup in November 2017 and replaced by Emmerson Mnangagwa — the country gained notoriety for illegal detentions. Under Zimbabwean law, an accused person can only spend a maximum of 48 hours in detention.
Today, not a week goes by without key opposition figures appearing in court for various offences.
Fadzayi Mahere, the CCC spokesperson, Joanah Mamombe, an opposition lawmaker, and Cecelia Chimbiri, an opposition youth leader, all have cases before the courts and face varying serious charges.
Political analysts say this is "lawfare" at play. Lawfare refers to the abuse of the law by those in power to target rivals.
“What we are seeing is the politicization and weaponization of the judiciary services in Zimbabwe and this is clearly a post-coup, or rather a Mnangangwa administration, phenomenon where they seek control and manipulation of the judiciary system to the extent that those judges that are seen to be not complying with rulings that suit the political interest of Zanu PF are kicked out,” Rashwheat Mukundu, a political analyst said. Mukundu said the illegal detention of Sikhala and 15 other opposition activists, for example, are a clear indication that the “reform mantra” by Zanu PF was mere lip service.
“It’s a way to send a message to the opposition and would-be opponents of Mnangagwa that this is the treatment that awaits you should you dare to speak against the regime,” Mukundu added.
Unfortunately, this tends to have negative impact on the country internationally.
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum executive director Musa Kika says illegal detentions have definitely worsened under Mnangangwa’s reign.
"This is unprecedented. Even under Mugabe, bail used to be denied and people got arrested, but it never got to these extremes where someone spends over 70 days in detention with bail being denied. We had people like Evan Mawarire being arrested during Mugabe’s time, but they would never spend this much time in detention as is becoming a trend now,” he said said. Kika says that Sikhala’s arrest and detention, in particular, is testament to all “that is wrong with our judicial system.”
“What is happening with Sikhala exposes how our law and its application is devoid of humanity, common sense, moral content and that our legal system is abnormal, corrupt and is evil,” Kika added. He cited preferential treatment of suspects at the courts.
“The treatment that Sikhala compared to Mayor Wadyajena and Prisca Mupfumira … is different. Those ones get arrested and are released after one night or after first appearance [in court],” Kika says. Wadyajena, a Zanu PF legislator, was arrested on a fraud charge last week and freed on bail the next day. Mupfumira, a former cabinet minister charged with corruption, was also treated leniently compared to Sikhala's legal ordeal.
On the other hand, those charged with what Kika described as “flimsy offences” like inciting public violence “are treated like hardcore criminals and are put in Chikurubi Maximum prison with dangerous criminals.”
"The lengthy detention of Job Sikhala is very unfortunate. Bail is a constitutional right and there is no reason why the justice system should deny him and 15 others this right. People who have committed worse crimes have been granted bail," Ngarivhume said.
Ngarivhume further says the clampdown on opposition activists is a ploy to destabilize the opposition ahead of the 2023 elections. "The ploy is in motion. They [Zanu PF] want to make sure they hit hard against the opposition," Ngarivhume said. "What message is this sending to the young men and women in opposition who want to take up leadership positions?"
Top human rights lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, says Sikhala is being held in a single cell typically used for prisoners considered “dangerous” and was shackled “every time he changed location.” If convicted, Sikhala faces up to 10 years behind bars. And the opposition leader was again denied bail on Monday.
Mtetwa, who is representing Sikhaka, did not hold out much hope for him because independent judges were being sidelined, disciplined or dismissed under Mnangagwa. "The point is not so much to have him prosecuted, but to harass him and to keep him in custody for as long as possible," she said.
Ngarivhume, for his part, as well as others in Zimbabwe, see more harassment and arrests of opposition officials and supporters in the coming months as next elections approach. Zimbabwe is headed for polls in August 2023 and traditionally experiences a spike in the number of arrests and violence against opposition activists and officials. To be sure, these attacks on opposition leaders will have a huge impact on ordInary Zimbabweans and will further skew the electoral playing field in Zanu PF’s favor.
Chris Muronzi is a veteran Zimbabwean journalist and correspondent who has written for a number of global publications, including Al Jazeera, Financial Mail, and Quartz. Follow him on Twitter: @mouthpieces1
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