Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. The High Court in Harare has set the date to hear an appeal by jailed Transform Zimbabwe leader Jacob Ngarivhume.
According to journalist Hopewell Chin’ono, High Court judges, Justices Pisirayi Kwenda and Benjamin Chikowero will hear Ngarivhume’s appeal on Tuesday, 24 October, at 10 AM.
Ngarivhume was sentenced to four years in jail on 28 April 2023 following his conviction the previous day of public violence incitement charges.
The charges emanated from a July 2020 tweet in which he allegedly called for a national shutdown in protest over poor leadership by the ZANU PF-led government.
Ngarivhume was convicted by Harare magistrate Feresi Chakanyuka after a full trial that lasted almost three years.
He was sentenced to 48 months imprisonment, with 12 months conditionally set aside. This means he will serve an effective three years in jail.
During the trial, Ngarivhume denied the accusations arguing that the Twitter handle allegedly used as the basis of his prosecution did not belong to him.
In June this year, Justices Kwenda and Chikowero reserved judgement indefinitely in a matter in which Ngarivhume was seeking bail pending appeal against his conviction and sentencing.
The judges reserved judgement after hearing arguments by Ngarivhume through his lawyer, Lovemore Madhuku who argued that the magistrate who convicted and sentenced his client erred in finding him guilty of an offence he had not committed.
In sentencing Ngarivhume, magistrate Chakanyuka said she took into consideration that Ngarivhume “is a first offender” adding that “a fine or suspended sentence would not deter further offenders, a sentence must be meaningful.
Incitement to public violence is defined as the act of urging, encouraging, or advocating for the use of violence by members of the public against other individuals or groups. The offense carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
The Government has been accused of using the charge of incitement to public violence to suppress dissent and opposition.
Several political activists, journalists, and other individuals who speak out against ZANU PF or its policies have been arrested and charged with incitement to public violence.
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