Job Sikhala Details Arrest And Charges In Penhalonga [Part Two]

By pindula

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. Former St Mary’s and Zengeza MP, Job Sikhala, has spoken out about his arrest on Saturday in Penhalonga, Manicaland, where he and 40 fellow activists were detained.

They were charged under Section 7(1)(b) of the Maintenance of Public Order Act for holding a public gathering without notifying the police.

On Sunday morning, Sikhala took to X (formerly Twitter) to share his side of the story, calling his post “Part One” of what happened the day before.

On Tuesday, Sikhala, who now leads the National Democratic Working Group, followed up with “Part Two,” continuing his account of the events that transpired from their arrest until their release. Wrote Sikhala:

Our Mutare Arrest Part 2
When they called us into their office for interviews one by one, I had never come across such silly questions like the questions we were asked, “Who is funding your activities? If your National Democratic People’s Convention asks you to form a political party, are you going to form one? What is your time period to hold the People’s Convention? How is the organisation structured.? What is your agenda as the National Democratic Working Group? Are you planning any demonstrations?”.

When I laughed and told them that hey “Ngwende, the questions you are asking me, what do they have anything to do with the arrest? Are they part of the charge you have preferred against us?”

Ngwende, the Law and Order officer incoherently answered, “Please, we haven’t charged you with any offence. Toda kungozivana.”

I said when we were arrested at the Beats of the Forest, a police officer who said is the Officer Commanding Mutare District called Shonhiwa pronounced that we were arrested for breaching Section 7 of MOPA.

That’s why we have been transferred from Penhalonga Police station to here at Mutare Police Station Law and Order section. They stammered and couldn’t answer my concerns with my valid answers.

I told them that as a lawyer myself, I would not allow them to abuse me by asking questions unrelated to the reasons why we were arrested.

After some minutes, they took me to the room, where Dr. Wurayayi Zembe, Joelson Mugari, and Nyabeze were.

What surprised all of us is that they were in a hurry to get answers to their questions. I saw them taking two elderly women. They did not take long with them.

A few moments later, they called me and Dr. Zembe and told us that, “we want to talk to you as the leaders of these people. In our investigations, we have come to the conclusion that you have not committed any crime. So we ask you to tell your people that you must urgently leave this police station. We are only going to remain with your Chief National Organiser Joelson Mugari.”

I told them that Joelson Mugari is an acute sugar diabetes patient. He did not travel with his medication. It will create difficulties problems for them.

He recently collapsed in his rural home in Buhera and only survived after he got admitted to Parirenyatwa Hospital for two weeks.

It would be prudent if they release him in the custody of his lawyers who were present with us from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, and bring him tomorrow if you still need him. They refused.

They remained behind with him and our lawyers. Another team of lawyers who were on their way from Harare had to make a U-Turn in Rusape after they heard that the 40 of us have been released and left the issue of Joelson Mugari in the hands of the lawyers in Mutare.

As per my warning, Joelson Mugari collapsed in the cells after his sugar levels rose to astronomical levels. He was no longer able to talk. When his sugar was tested, it was noticed that it had risen to 28. He had no medication. People had to rush to pharmacies in Mutare to find the medication.

He started recovering, and they took him to court today, where they released him on USD300 bail on the charge of convening an unsanctioned meeting.

Thank you, Zimbabwe. Thank you all who took this unlawful arrest of ours to the world. That you all Ambassadors who contacted us to inquire about this arrest.

Thank you all those from outside Zimbabwe who reached out to seek to know what happened to us. This is the undiluted story of what happened to us.

To Shonhiwa, who called himself Officer Commanding, we are going to meet in court as you said that you are arresting us and you will stand in court to pin us down.

Papers of lawsuits in your personal capacity as the arresting officer you boasted to us are coming. Citizens have the right to seek remedy where they are wronged in terms of our laws.

We will pursue this issue of the suffering we encountered through your unlawful arrest to the last court on earth. We meet in Court!!!

Source: Pindula

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