INCARCERATED MDC Alliance vice-chairperson and Zengeza West legislator Job Sikhala yesterday told the court that he had been arrested more than 65 times since 2000 and had not been convicted.
Sikhala said this during his bail application submissions
yesterday before Harare magistrate Ngoni Nduna.
He also submitted that each time he was granted bail, he
religiously attended hearings and never violated bail conditions.
Sikhala is facing a charge of communicating falsehoods
after he allegedly posted through his social media page “Job Wiwa Sikhala” that
a police officer killed a nine-month-old child.
He, however, disowned the Facebook account, stating that he
does not even own one. Leading evidence from the investigating officer Davison
Ngezi, prosecutor Lancelot Mutsokoti told the court that Sikhala was likely to
abscond since he was facing a serious offence which attracted a penalty of up
to 20 years.
“We have overwhelming evidence against the accused, which
includes downloaded posts from his Facebook account and a detailed statement
from the mother of the alleged dead child. We also have a medical affidavit of
the alleged dead child,” Ngezi said.
Representing Sikhala, lawyer Harrison Nkomo said the
State’s submission on bail opposition was not convincing since Sikhala had
already disowned the Facebook account.
But Ngezi said technical experts within the police force
were yet to avail results on whether the Facebook account belonged to Sikhala
or not. Sikhala submitted that the police arrested him to investigate.
Ngezi insisted Sikhala had communicated falsehoods because
the child in question is not even nine months old, but is actually three weeks
old.
Meanwhile, journalist Hopewell Chin’ono, who is facing a
similar charge, was yesterday denied bail at the Harare Magistrates Court on
the basis that he was likely to commit other offences. He was remanded to
February 18, 2020.
In passing his ruling, magistrate Lazini Ncube said there
was overwhelming evidence against Chin’ono since the child he said was dead is
alive.
As has become the norm, Chin’ono’s appearance at court
yesterday was characterised with drama as prison officers sought to bar journalists
from covering proceedings. One prison officer even threatened to shoot a
journalist before confiscating his mobile phone, which he, however, later gave
back.
“Shameless. How can you threaten a journalist with a gun? I
have never seen a prison officer threatening a journalist,” Chin’ono shouted as
he was being driven away. Newsday
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