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)
If
Mhlanga,
a
senior
journalist
at
Alpha
Media
Holdings
(AMH),
is
denied
bail
until
April,
he
will
have
spent
over
a
month
in
pre-trial
detention.
Chin’ono
wrote
on
X:
The
Zimbabwean
journalist
Blessed
Mhlanga,
who
has
been
in
political
detention
since
Monday,
did
not
commit
the
crime
he
is
accused
of,
and
the
owner
of
HSTV,
where
Blessed
works,
confirms
this.Trevor
Ncube
says
Blessed
did
not
say
a
word
in
the
said
material
transmitted
and
adds
that
Blessed
is
neither
HSTV,
which
broadcast
the
material,
nor
AMH,
the
parent
company
of
HSTV.Mnangagwa’s
regime
is
run
by
cowards
from
top
to
bottom,
who
targeted
Blessed
as
a
soft
target.We
now
also
know
that
Mnangagwa’s
Justice
Minister,
Ziyambe
Ziyambe,
instructed
the
courts
not
to
release
Blessed
until
after
31
March.
What
a
bunch
of
cowards!
Mhlanga
was
arrested
on
Monday
for
allegedly
sharing
information
that
could
incite
violence
or
damage
property.
He
is
facing
charges
under
Section
164
of
the
Criminal
Law
(Codification
and
Reform)
Act.
On
Friday,
a
Harare
magistrate,
Farai
Gwitima,
denied
Mhlanga
bail,
saying
he
might
interfere
with
witnesses
and
harm
the
investigation.
The
charges
against
Mhlanga
are
related
to
interviews
he
reportedly
had
with
Blessed
Geza,
a
war
veteran
from
the
ruling
ZANU
PF
party,
who
opposes
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa’s
2030
agenda.
The
police
are
searching
for
Geza
to
answer
charges
of
incitement,
undermining
the
President’s
authority,
and
theft.
Geza
has
publicly
called
for
Mnangagwa
to
resign,
accusing
him
of
corruption,
poor
leadership,
favouritism,
and
rewarding
friends
and
family.
Post
published
in:
Featured