Zim News Blog -NEWS NETWORK

Source: Zimbabwe Analysts Expresses Fear For Multi-Party Democracy

A Zimbabwe analyst says country is headed for a disaster when it comes to upholding multi-party democracy. This, after the country’s High Court barred 14 members of parliament from the main opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) from contesting again their seats in Saturday’s by-election.

Sengezo Tshabangu, who claims to be the CCC’s interim secretary general, told the court that the parliamentarians no longer represented the party because they had been recalled. Tendai Ruben Mbofana, a Zimbabwe social justice advocate and writer, tells VOA’s James Butty, the CCC will need to adopt a new constitution and create proper party structures to prevent what he calls another imposter posing as leader of the party..

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Source: Fighting Back Against ED & Tshabangu Is Possible – Mutebuka

United Kingdom-based Zimbabwean lawyer, Brighton Mutebuka, has stated that the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party can fight back against Sengezo Tshabangu and President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who they believe are working together to destroy the opposition. Tshabangu has been recalling CCC Members of Parliament and councillors, claiming that they no longer belong to the party. However, the CCC party denies Tshabangu’s claim and believes he is collaborating with ZANU PF to secure the ruling party’s two-thirds majority in Parliament.

Mutebuka argues that ZANU PF should not be allowed to violate the constitution and human rights without consequences. He suggests that the opposition party should adopt an irregular and flexible approach to outmanoeuvre the regime. He believes that peaceful mass protests should not be disregarded entirely, even in the face of regime brutality. Mutebuka said:

Any credible opposition party which seeks to deliver change in an authoritarian environment has to follow the centuries-old path trodden by our forbearers – that of painstakingly challenging dictatorship by relentlessly chipping away at it until a stream turns into a flood!

To counteract rampant impunity, a high cost should always be imposed on dictators following any incident which crosses the Rubicon when it comes to violating democratic norms.

The more that acts of impunity are left unchallenged, the more they are likely to be repeated or even exceeded. The more that an opposition political party fails to devise methods of pushing back against brutality & impunity effectively, the more it loses credibility while also leaving its members exposed or at the mercy of the rampant dictatorship.

Mutebuka asserts that brutal regimes only stop their brutality when all forms of credible opposition are silenced. Mutebuka argues that it is not credible for an opposition party to disavow political protests without offering an alternative strategy to rein in the offending behaviour of the regime.

To retain credibility and keep the regime off balance, Mutebuka suggests that the opposition party must demonstrate its ability to mobilise e and protest with devastating consequences. He believes that the current crisis requires a fundamental shift in mindset and decisive leadership from the CCC party and its leader, Nelson Chamisa. Without building the capacity to pose a credible and effective counterattack against the regime, any new structure or variation of the current one will remain vulnerable to the relentless onslaught of the regime.

Since the August 2023 elections, there has been an impasse between ZANU PF and the CCC. The CCC believes that the election results were manipulated in favour of President Mnangagwa and called for new elections, but their request was ignored. The crisis escalated when Sengezo Tshabangu recalled CCC Members of Parliament and Councillors. The CCC sought help from SADC but was advised to address their concerns through local courts. However, the CCC argues that the local courts are controlled by ZANU PF, as seen through the banning of their candidates from participating in by-elections. The government has previously cracked down on dissent and banned protests, leaving the CCC with limited options. CCC says there are concerns that if ZANU PF goes unchallenged, they may amend the constitution to allow President Mnangagwa to remain in power indefinitely or establish a one-party state in Zimbabwe.

The post Fighting Back Against ED & Tshabangu Is Possible – Mutebuka appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

Source: “Zimbabwean Govt Spent USD5 Million Conducting Needless By-election, Denied Citizens To Vote” – CCC

Zimbabwe’s main opposition party, the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), has criticised the government for the way the by-elections held on 9 December 2023 were conducted. The CCC believes that these by-elections were unnecessary and that the government denied citizens the opportunity to vote.

The party’s spokesperson, Promise Mkwananzi, released a statement condemning the by-elections after the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) announced that ZANU PF had won 7 out of the 9 Parliamentary seats. These seats were previously held by CCC, which had won them in the August 2023 harmonized elections. The seats became vacant after Sengezo Tshabangu, the self-proclaimed interim secretary-general of CCC, recalled the CCC Members of Parliament, accusing them of no longer belonging to the party.

The CCC alleges that ZANU PF influenced Tshabangu to recall CCC MPs and argues that ZANU PF was the mastermind behind these by-elections. CCC MPs who had been recalled were barred by the courts from participating in the by-elections. Read Mkwananzi’s statement seen by Pindula News:

Statement on the Fraudulent By-Elections

The just-ended ZANU PF masterminded by-elections gave the full picture of the regime’s brazen determination to undermine democracy, shred the constitution and deny citizens their inalienable right to vote representatives of their choice.

What is worse is a showcase of a complicit judiciary in undermining the very laws they are supposed to uphold. In a string of judicial absurdities on the eve of the by-elections, at midnight, Justice Muzenda, who contested ZANU PF primary elections in 2013, was brought from Mutare to deliver a nocturnal “order to execute” the Katiyo Judgement without granting CCC and it’s candidates their right to be heard through a lawyer of their choice.

Whereas the court was willing to hear ZANU PF imposters Tshabangu in the heart of the night, it refused to hear our appeal on an urgent basis with respect to the Mutevedzi Judgement.

Despite being the party sponsoring the recalled candidates and being party to the both the Katiyo proceedings and the resultant appeal, the CCC was not invited to Justice Muzenda’s Justice sojourn.

The party took all necessary legal steps to ensure the inclusion of our candidates on the ballot through appealing the misdirected Judgement by Justice Katiyo arising from an equally misdirected initial Judgement by Justice Mutevedzi. It is sad that more than forty years after independence, citizens have to approach the courts to be on the ballot paper and actually being denied that right, effectively denying citizens the choice to vote for the removed candidates.

The effect of the biased judgement is a judicial coup on the concerned constituencies and a result that is illegitimate and unrepresentative of the will of the voters. This further exacerbates the ongoing legitimacy impasse stemming out of the flawed sham of the 23rd of August 2023.

It is disturbing that the government spent a whooping USD5 million dollars conducting needless by-election only to deny citizens the choice to vote in that election further evidence of scarce financial resources poured down the drain at a time when resources are direly required to combat cholera, equip hospitals and prepare emergency measures for the forecasted severe drought.

The ill-fated by-elections are a sham as evidenced by an unprecedented low voter turn out and unusually high number of spoilt ballots both signalling the people’s anger and growing impatience against the regime’s shenanigans.

Coupled with the flawed and contested outcome of the 23rd of August 2023, the effect of this order is a judicial coup on the right to vote and to be voted for in Zimbabwe-an undeniable affront against the constitution of Zimbabwe. Accordingly, we will be filing a formal complaint with the Judicial Service Commission.

Under the continued leadership and guidance of CCC President Advocate Nelson Chamisa we continue to reiterate that only SADC-facilitated dialogue with a view to implement the reforms necessary to enable the conduction of a fresh election is the only solution to Zimbabwe’s deepening legitimacy and political crisis.

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Source: TZ leader Jacob Ngarivhume acquitted on appeal after 8 months in jail

Judges say opposition politician wrongly convicted for urging anti-government protests

Wrongly convicted … Jacob Ngarivhume freed after judges ruled he was wrongly convicted

HARARE – Transform Zimbabwe leader Jacob Ngarivhume has been freed on appeal, eight months into a widely condemned four-year prison term imposed earlier during the year by a Harare magistrate for allegedly inciting violence.

High Court judges Pisirayi Kwenda and Fatima Maxwell ruled the opposition leader was wrongly convicted for the alleged 2020 offence.

Ngarivhume was jailed for four years but has been serving an effective 3-year sentence for allegedly using his Twitter account to urge peaceful protests against massive corruption and denial of socio-economic rights to ordinary Zimbabweans under Zanu PF rule.

Judges said there was no evidence produced in court to prove the politician and activist owned the Twitter account used as the basis for his conviction.

Justice Kwenda said: “This is a unanimous decision of the court. The appellant appeared in the court below charged with incitement to commit public violence. Alternatively, he was charged with intent to participate in a gathering to promote violence. He denied the charge.

“The state case was that the appellant, the president of Transform Zimbabwe party, posted numerous messages on his Twitter handle pertaining to the July 31, 2020, protests. In the messages, he was said to have written: ‘31 JULY DEMO: THIS IS NOT POLITICS, IT’S A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH. WE HAVE BEEN PATIENT, TOLERANT AND QUIET BUT THESE CORRUPT CRIMINALS ARE DESTROYING OUR FUTURE… LET’S BRING OUR SUFFERING TO THE GOVERNMENT’S ATTENTION. LET’S COME TOGETHER AS CITIZENS AND SAY ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!’

“In his defence outline, Ngarivhume said he was denying the main and alternative charges. He denied that he had a Twitter handle @jngarivhume or @ngarivhume as said in the charge. He put the state to prove that he had posted those words on the alleged handle. He said he had a Twitter handle called @ngarivhumejacob. The words attributed to him were not his words.

“The matter proceeded to trial and the appellant was convicted of the alternative charge. He was sentenced to 48 months of which 12 months were suspended.

“Ngarivhume appealed against both the conviction and sentence. As against conviction, he relied on seven grounds and as against sentence he relied on four grounds. Counsel has opted to abide to the heads of argument.

“The conviction was based on the fact that he had not denied his association with the Twitter handle at the time he was charged by police. The court found that it was evidence beyond reasonable doubt.

“It is trite that in any criminal case, the onus is on the state to prove the charge which the accused is facing. The burden of proof in criminal cases shall rest on the prosecution.

“The state did not lead any evidence to prove their case. It is clear from the record that the state knew they should produce evidence. The police knew there was a need to link the accused to the words. They knew the procedure to be followed and they did not do that. We don’t know why they didn’t follow through but what we know is that the state did not prove it.

“We were asked to examine the evidence and there was no evidence which links the accused to the crime. It would not be right to uphold the conviction. In a result, the appeal is allowed. And the conviction is quashed.”

Ngarivhume’s lawyer Lovemore Madhuku told journalists after the court hearing that the state wasted eight eight months of the politician’s life.

“As we speak, he is now a very free man, they are going through the normal procedure of releasing him. The judges agreed with us even in the respect that the magistrate’s court did not have a basis at all (to convict), so he had his eight months wasted,” Madhuku said.

Ngarivhume was sentenced by Harare magistrate Feresi Chakanyuka on April 28, 2023.

His imprisonment was condemned as a brazen abuse of power by the Zanu PF-led authority.

Ngarivhume, together with former CCC legislator Job Sikhala – still in prison – has been widely regarded as a political prisoner in the clutches of Emmerson Mnangagwa’s tough rule.

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Source: Political Rot In Judiciary Exposed

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