TellZimbabwe News

MDC national vice chairperson and Member of Parliament of Zengeza West , Job Sikhala has described his ongoing trial the High Court on subversion charges as a persecution of democracy , the state should instead prefer the charges on some Zanu PF members who have make some controversial statements in the past.

Speaking to the TellZim News during an inclusive interview a day before his appearance before Justice Garainesu Mawadze on Monday January 03, Sihkala criticized what he implied to be selective application of the law and a crackdown of free speech.

“You remember what Josiah Hungwe said while addressing a Masvingo Zanu PF Coordinating Committee, when he said that Mnangagwa is prepared to use the guns to shoot anybody if they are not going to vote for him.

We heard Matemadanda saying several times we are going to use soldiers and everybody to kill everyone if they are not going to vote for Zanu PF. These are the people who are treasonous against our people of Zimbabwe not a statement that I said Mnangagwa must go before 2023,” said Sikhala.

Victor Matemadanda is the Zanu PF secretary of the commissariat in the party’s politburo and also he is the Deputy Minister of Defense.

Josiah Hungwe is a veteran member and he has saved in many portfolios since independence, and he still since in the politburo.

“Even if I could have said that Mnangagwa must go before 2023, that’s my democratic right. And I truly want him to go before 2023 because he has destroyed this country, our people are suffering, our economy is so downtrodden that every citizen that you meet on the street is angry and shocked by how the country has been run since the coup.

You could see the cluelessness of people who have taken over control of our country. So people have the right to say you have failed, our inspiration has been destroyed, and the dreams of several generations are being destroyed by these people. So I want him to go,” he said.

Asked whether he acknowledged that free speech came with limitations and immense responsibilities at the law, Sikhala the statement he is alleged to have nobody.

“It has no limitations as long it doesn’t harm anyone. Did it harm anyone, if you know? People must be able to understand the concept of freedom of expression as provided for in our constitution. Your action must be able to harm someone. My statements at the rally did not harm anyone.

They blew it out of the content and the issue is that it has now grown out the order, it has become an international issue and people are laughing at this government that they are trying to persecute an opponent of the government on an issue that did not harm anyone. There are people who have done and said worse words,” he said.

Sikhala is being charged for a statement he is alleged to have said in 2019 while addressing a campaign rally at Mandadzaka ahead of Bikita Rural District Council (RDC) Ward 21 before the (2023) general elections.

“The stupidity of it all emanates from the just bringing an audio or video of 57 seconds of a rally which l addressed for two hours. When I took the podium l addressed for two hours. They are depending on a video which they downloaded from one Jones Musara’s twitter account –a Zanu PF activist based in Toronto Canada which they are now trying to use as primary evidence in court. However the video is only 57 seconds.

I cannot discuss the merits of the case as that in sub –judice so l will depend on what is already in the public domain as contained in their indictment papers.

The first thing you must understand at law, in terms of Section 381 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Amendment Act , where document must come with it to court and tell the court how they got that evidence. So we are also interested to know how a Zanu Pf activist based in Canada, in Toronto could have taken a video in a countryside village in Mandadzaka,” he said.

Sikhala said it was very difficult if not impossible to prove that a video that was downloaded on Twitter is fully authentic and was not altered.

We wonder whether he used drone satellite to take that video. It is very clear in their indictment papers that they are saying they downloaded the video from the Twitter account of Jones Musara. It’s a surprise that the State is depending their evidence on a video downloaded from Twitter. We are going to be keen to see Jones Musara coming to court and testify on where he took the video and whether he was present during the period of the rally,” said Sikhala.

Sikhala said the charges amounted to a persecution of democracy and a crackdown of free speech by authoritarian ruling elite.

“The other issue you would also have to understand is that no matter what the people’s thinking to say that it (what he is alleged to have said) is reckless; this is a democratic society we want to build in our country. The people of Zimbabwe must be able to take to task the people who purport to govern them.

So the moment we allow leaders to go after the opposition and opponents based on what they say against them on public platforms shows utter desperation,” Sikhala said.

On prospects of getting a fair trial in face of many reports and complaints of a compromised judiciary, Sikhala only said it can only be his hope that he receives a fair trial.

The right to fair trial is one of the fundamental cornerstones of our new Constitution. It’s provided for in terms of Section 69 of the Constitution.

It clearly sate that every citizen in our country is entitled to a fair trial. And the right to a trial is not only one of those rights in our Constitution but is one of these unlimited rights in the Constitution to say that no one who can abrogate against the principle of a fair trial.