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)
“It
is
absolutely
shameful
that
Blessed
Mhlanga
has
been
thrown
behind
bars
simply
because
he
gave
voice
to
a
war
veteran’s
criticism
of
Zimbabwe’s
government,”
said
CPJ
Africa
Program
Coordinator,
Muthoki
Mumo,
in
Nairobi.
“Zimbabwean
authorities
should
free
Mhlanga
unconditionally
and
respond
to
their
citizens’
concerns,
rather
than
punishing
the
messenger.”
Mhlanga,
who
works
with
the
privately
owned
Heart
and
Soul
TV,
said
on
the social
media
platform
X that
three
armed
men
came
to
his
office
searching
for
him
on
February
17,
soon
after
which
the
police
phoned
him
to
ask
him
to
come
in
for
questioning.
On
February
21,
the
police
issued
a statement seeking
information
about
Mhlanga’s
whereabouts.
Mhlanga
responded
to
the
police
summons
on
February
24
and
was
arrested
on
two
counts
of
transmission
of
data
messages
“inciting
violence
or
damage
to
property,”
according
to
the
Zimbabwe
chapter
of
the Media
Institute
of
Southern
Africa,
the Zimbabwe
Lawyers
for
Human
Rights network,
and
Mhlanga’s
lawyer
Chris
Mhike.
On
February
25,
prosecutors opposed Mhlanga’s
bail
application,
arguing
that
he
was
a
flight
risk,
Mhike
told
CPJ.
The
court
is
due
to decide on
his
application
on
February
27.
Authorities
allege
that
the
offenses
were
committed
in
Mhlanga’s November
2024 and January
2025 interviews
with
Blessed
Geza,
a
veteran
of
Zimbabwe’s
war
for
independence
from
white
minority
rule,
who
called
on
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa to
resign,
accusing
him
of
nepotism,
corruption,
and
failing
to
address
economic
issues.
If
found
guilty,
Mhlanga
could
be
jailed
for
up
to
five
years
and fined up
to
US$700
under
the 2021
Cyber
and
Data
Protection
Act.
Mhlanga
was
previously
assaulted
and arrested in
2022
while
covering
the
attempted
arrest
of
an
opposition
politician.
CPJ’s
phone
calls
and
messages
to
Zimbabwe’s
National
Prosecution
Authority
communications
officer
Angelina
Munyeriwa
and
police
spokesperson
Paul
Nyathi
went
unanswered.
Post
published
in:
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