Controversial political activist Paddington Japajapa has
been slapped with an effective two-year jail term after he was convicted of
incitement to commit violence during last year’s elections.
Presiding magistrate Learnmore Mapiye had initially
sentenced Japajapa to three years in jail before she suspended one year on
condition that he doesn’t commit a similar offense in the next five years.
In her ruling Mapiye said Japajapa is not a first time
offender as he was recently convicted by another magistrate after he invaded
the Zambian Embassy after he didn’t qualify for a maize import license.
Mapiye noted that Japajapa’s role during the July 30 polls
was to merely monitor the election but went on to discuss election results with
journalists from various media houses before they were officially announced by
the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC).
The State led by Franscisca Mukumbiri proved that on July
31 at Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Command Centre, Japajapa unlawfully made
communication to induce political violence at a presser.
Japajapa said: “If people come to rallies it means they
appreciate the candidate, you cannot follow a candidate whom you cannot vote
for. … ZEC must do the right thing by announcing the proper results. Failure to
do this, as leader of a civic organisation I am going to call for chaos in the
country…”
He was subsequently apprehended for the offence. H Metro
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