Journalist
Blessed
Mhlanga
(left)
in
the
capital’s
Harare
Magistrates
Court
with
his
lawyer
Chris
Mhike
(right)
on
February
25.
If
found
guilty
of
incitement,
Mhlanga
could
be
jailed
for
five
years.
(Photo:
Lovejoy
Mutongwiza)
Mhlanga
has
been
locked
up
in
remand
prison
for
close
to
two
weeks
on
allegations
of
transmitting
information
that
incites
violence.
Mhlanga’s
arrest
followed
interviews
he
allegedly
conducted
with
Blessed
Geza,
a
war
veteran
who
is
currently
being
sought
by
the
police
to
answer
to
charges
of
incitement,
undermining
the
authority
of
the
President,
and
theft.
In
denying
Mhlanga
bail,
Magistrate
Farai
Gwitima
ruled
that
the
journalist
was
likely
to
interfere
with
witnesses
who
are
his
subordinates.
The
magistrate
also
cited
the
potential
for
Mhlanga’s
release
to
spark
unrest
in
Zimbabwe.
Through
his
lawyer,
Chris
Mhike,
Mhlanga
has
now
appealed
the
magistrate’s
decision
at
the
High
Court,
arguing
that
Gwitima
was
wrong
in
denying
him
bail.
The
journalist’s
incarceration
comes
amid
concerns
over
press
freedom
and
the
treatment
of
media
practitioners
in
the
country.
In
a
statement
released
on
Friday,
March
7,
the
Zimbabwe
Lawyers
for
Human
Rights
(ZLHR)
confirmed
that
an
appeal
for
bail
has
been
filed
on
behalf
of
Mhlanga
at
the
High
Court.
ZLHR
said:
We
have
amplified
our
efforts
to
secure
freedom
for
Mhlanga
by
filing
an
appeal
at
High
Court
against
Harare
Magistrate
Farai
Gwitima’s
decision
to
deny
bail
to
the
senior
journalist.In
the
appeal,
our
lawyer
Chris
Mhike,
argued
that
Magistrate
Gwitima
grossly
erred
and
misdirected
himself
in
denying
bail
to
Mhlanga
late
last
month
as
there
were
no
compelling
reasons
to
justify
Mhlanga’s
continued
incarceration.