{"id":94412,"date":"2024-05-17T09:48:24","date_gmt":"2024-05-17T07:48:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/sikhala-addresses-geneva-summit-for-human-rights-and-democracy"},"modified":"2024-05-17T12:57:08","modified_gmt":"2024-05-17T10:57:08","slug":"sikhala-addresses-geneva-summit-for-human-rights-and-democracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/sikhala-addresses-geneva-summit-for-human-rights-and-democracy","title":{"rendered":"Sikhala Addresses Geneva Summit For Human Rights And Democracy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. <\/strong><\/span>Former Member of Parliament for Zengeza, Job Sikhala, on Wednesday told the annual Geneva Summit, that discussing Zimbabwe\u2019s human rights situation could result in his imprisonment under the \u201cPatriotic Act\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Patriotic Act, officially known as the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Amendment Act, 2023, criminalises \u201cwilfully injuring the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe\u201d.<\/p>\n

Sikhala was addressing the Geneva Summit on Human Rights and Democracy where he was invited as one of this year\u2019s speakers.<\/p>\n

The former CCC MP spent 595 days in pretrial detention following his arrest for inciting public violence.<\/p>\n

He told the Summit that his arrest was politically motivated and was aimed at getting him out of the way as President Emmerson Mnangagwa\u2019s ZANU PF allegedly prepared to manipulate the August 2023 harmonised elections. He said (via NewZimbabwe.com<\/b>):
\nIt was the only way Zimbabwe\u2019s corrupt regime could manipulate the 2023 elections and stop me from participating in them.<\/p>\n

They denied me food and visits from friends, colleagues and family.<\/p>\n

The regime piled cases against me during the period of my incarceration. I faced five trials and was convicted twice with one being on a law that does not even exist.<\/p>\n

Innocent until proven guilty does not apply to anyone who dares to stand up to Mnangagwa\u2019s corrupt regime.<\/p>\n

Sikhala said millions of Zimbabweans have fled the country in fear of persecution. He said:<\/p>\n

In July 2023 the regime passed the Patriotic Act, a new repressive legislation targeting free speech and association.<\/p>\n

Under that law, I am deemed to be committing a crime just by talking to you.<\/p>\n

It is no wonder why millions of Zimbabweans have fled abroad in fear of persecution.<\/p>\n

Penalties for those found guilty of violating the Patriotic Act include a fine not exceeding level twelve or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 10 years, or both.<\/p>\n

Punishment also includes the loss of citizenship, denial of the right to vote and the death penalty.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Zimbabwe<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. Former Member of Parliament for Zengeza, Job Sikhala, on Wednesday told the annual Geneva Summit, that discussing Zimbabwe\u2019s human rights situation could result in his imprisonment under the \u201cPatriotic Act\u201d. The Patriotic Act, officially known as the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Amendment Act, 2023, criminalises \u201cwilfully injuring the sovereignty and national […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":94411,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,12],"tags":[1493,2189,2408,19],"class_list":{"0":"post-94412","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all-news","8":"category-policy","9":"tag-africa-press","10":"tag-africa-press-zimbabwe-2","11":"tag-job-sikhala","12":"tag-zimbabwe"},"yoast_head":"\nSikhala Addresses Geneva Summit For Human Rights And Democracy - zimbabwe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Former Member of Parliament for Zengeza, Job Sikhala, on Wednesday told the annual Geneva Summit, that discussing Zimbab ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/sikhala-addresses-geneva-summit-for-human-rights-and-democracy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sikhala Addresses Geneva Summit For Human Rights And Democracy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Former Member of Parliament for Zengeza, Job Sikhala, on Wednesday told the annual Geneva Summit, that discussing Zimbab ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/sikhala-addresses-geneva-summit-for-human-rights-and-democracy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"zimbabwe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-05-17T07:48:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-05-17T10:57:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2024\/05\/sm_1715926947.567351.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/sikhala-addresses-geneva-summit-for-human-rights-and-democracy\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/sikhala-addresses-geneva-summit-for-human-rights-and-democracy\",\"name\":\"Sikhala Addresses Geneva Summit For Human Rights And Democracy - 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