Job Sikhala Returns To Zimbabwe

While
abroad,
Sikhala
addressed
the
United
Nations
Geneva
Summit
on
Human
Rights
and
Democracy
on
May
15th,
where
he
spoke
out
against
Zimbabwe’s
deteriorating
human
rights
record.

Darlington
Chingwena,
the
information
secretary
of
the
National
Democratic
Working
Group,
has
stated
that
they
do
not
expect
Sikhala
to
be
re-arrested
over
his
comments
at
the
UN
Geneva
Summit
on
Human
Rights
and
Democracy.

Amalgamated
Teachers’
Rural
Union
of
Zimbabwe
(ARTUZ)
president
Obert
Masaraure,
who
has
been
working
with
Sikhala,
said:

I
understand
he
has
received
numerous
threatening
calls,
but
we
are
aware
that
he
is
safe
at
the
moment
and
we
will
continue
to
pray
that
he
remains
safe
because
we
are
aware
that
this
regime
can
do
anything.

Meanwhile,
the
High
Court
of
Zimbabwe
has
quashed
two
recent
convictions
against
Sikhala
of
two
separate
charges
he
was
facing.

On
Monday,
July
22,
the
High
Court
acquitted
Sikhala
of
the
charge
of
inciting
public
violence,
for
which
he
had
previously
been
ordered
by
a
Harare
Magistrate,
Tafadzwa
Miti,
to
serve
a
non-custodial
sentence
of
2
years,
with
the
sentence
wholly
suspended
on
the
condition
of
good
behaviour.

In
a
separate
ruling
on
the
same
day,
Justices
Pisirayi
Kwenda
and
Benjamin
Chikowero
acquitted
Sikhala
of
his
conviction
and
sentence
on
charges
of
communicating
falsehoods
on
social
media,
which
had
been
handed
down
by
Harare
magistrate
Feresi
Chakanyuka.