{"id":94867,"date":"2024-05-31T17:46:18","date_gmt":"2024-05-31T15:46:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/sikhala-not-a-political-prisoner-but-a-common-criminal-muswere"},"modified":"2024-05-31T21:29:25","modified_gmt":"2024-05-31T19:29:25","slug":"sikhala-not-a-political-prisoner-but-a-common-criminal-muswere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/sikhala-not-a-political-prisoner-but-a-common-criminal-muswere","title":{"rendered":"Sikhala Not A Political Prisoner But A Common Criminal – Muswere"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. <\/strong><\/span>Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Jenfan Muswere, has labeled opposition politician Job Sikhala a \u201ccommon criminal\u201d and dismissed his claims of political persecution.<\/p>\n

Sikhala, a prominent lawyer and former opposition member of Parliament, was arrested on 14 June 2022 for inciting public violence and spent the next 595 days in pre-trial detention.<\/p>\n

His prolonged detention without bail was seen by critics as political persecution for speaking against ZANU PF excesses.<\/p>\n

However, speaking during a recent post-Cabinet media briefing in Harare, Muswere said Sikhala was arrested for breaking the law and not political persecution. He said (via Nehanda Radio):<\/p>\n

He is not a political prisoner, and his claims of political persecution are in sharp contrast to his indisputable violation of the Criminal Codification and Reform Act.
\nSikhala alleged political persecution during a recent Human Rights and Democracy summit in Geneva, Switzerland.<\/p>\n

He said his arrest was a result of his political activism and opposition to the government.<\/p>\n

However, Muswere said Sikhala\u2019s conviction and acquittal in some of the cases proves that Zimbabwe\u2019s courts of law and independent and fair.<\/p>\n

Sikhala delivered a speech at the Geneva Summit, detailing his traumatic experiences in prison.<\/p>\n

The former Zengeza West MP claimed he was kept in solitary confinement and was denied food and visits from relatives as well as access to medical care. He said:<\/p>\n

It is disheartening to disclose sad moments of traumatic experiences one has walked through in life as it gives persecutors the satisfaction of their evil deeds.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m just one among thousands of Zimbabweans who have become victims of persecution in my country. My arrest was nothing more than political persecution.<\/p>\n

In my political career spanning more than three decades, I have been arrested 68 times by the authorities in Zimbabwe. In nearly all those cases, I was always found innocent.<\/p>\n

But on the 14th of June 2022, when I was 49 years old, with a wife and 11 children at home, yes, 11 children, I was arrested and thrown into prison. This time around, they refused to release me on bail.<\/p>\n

It was the only way Zimbabwe\u2019s corrupt regime would distil the 2023 general elections, which they stopped me from contesting.<\/p>\n

Sikhala also expressed his fears that he could be imprisoned for discussing Zimbabwe\u2019s human rights situation 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

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

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Jenfan Muswere, has labeled opposition politician Job Sikhala a \u201ccommon criminal\u201d and dismissed his claims of political persecution. Sikhala, a prominent lawyer and former opposition member of Parliament, was arrested on 14 June 2022 for inciting public violence and spent the next 595 days in pre-trial […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":94865,"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-94867","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 Not A Political Prisoner But A Common Criminal - Muswere - zimbabwe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Jenfan Muswere, has labeled opposition politician Job Sikhala ...\" \/>\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-not-a-political-prisoner-but-a-common-criminal-muswere\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sikhala Not A Political Prisoner But A Common Criminal - 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