HARARE
—
Alpha
Media
Holdings
publisher
Trevor
Ncube
on
Friday
condemned
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa’s
administration
after
a
Harare
magistrate
denied
bail
to
journalist
Blessed
Mhlanga.
“It
is
saddening,
it
is
heart-breaking,
but
it
was
to
be
expected,”
Ncube
told
reporters
outside
the
court.
“The
real
surprise
would
have
been
if
the
court
had
seriously
applied
itself
to
the
case
before
it.”
Harare
Magistrate
Farai
Gwatima
denied
Mhlanga
bail,
remanding
him
in
custody
until
March
14.
“The
release
of
the
accused
would
put
the
nation
in
unrest
and
undermine
peace
and
security,”
Gwatima
ruled.
Following
the
decision,
Ncube
decried
what
he
called
the
“selective
application
of
the
law”
in
Zimbabwe.
“Blessed
did
not
say
any
of
the
things
he
is
accused
of
saying.
He
is
not
HSTV
or
AMH—he
is
simply
a
journalist
practicing
his
profession,
which
is
constitutionally
protected,”
Ncube
said.
He
accused
the
judiciary
of
operating
under
Mnangagwa’s
control.
“President
Mnangagwa
owns
the
courts.
They
have
said
they
own
the
military,
they
own
the
police,
and
they
will
do
as
they
please.
What
we
saw
today
is
not
justice.
It
is
not
fair,
and
it
is
not
supported
by
our
Constitution,”
he
said.
Ncube
warned
that
the
ruling
put
journalists
at
risk.
“It
is
clear
that
under
these
circumstances,
you
do
this
job
at
your
own
risk.
The
courts
will
not
protect
you;
they
will
side
with
the
regime.
But
this
should
not
make
us
afraid.
We
must
continue
to
do
what
is
right—by
the
law,
by
our
Constitution,
and
by
the
public,”
he
said.
He
also
linked
the
case
to
Zimbabwe’s
broader
business
environment,
arguing
that
a
fair
legal
system
was
crucial
to
the
country’s
credibility.
“The
application
of
the
law
must
reflect
fairness
and
justice.
What
happened
today
is
a
bad
reflection
on
our
country,”
Ncube
said.