HARARE – Zimbabwe opposition politician Job Sikhala has claimed that he has been held in detention for months based on lies, during his appearance before Harare magistrate Marewanazvo Gofa on Tuesday.
Sikhala, a deputy chairperson of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party, is facing charges of inciting violence in relation to the murder of opposition activist Moreblessing Ali in May 2022.
He also faces a separate charge of obstructing the course of justice after he implicated Zanu PF in Ali’s murder.
“This case has been clouded with lies from the police and State. I have been incarcerated for 10 months based on lies and falsehoods to keep me here,” Sikhala said, adding that the state was “just building its case on lies.”
The outspoken Zengeza West lawmaker also criticised the use of a video, which was seen on YouTube, as evidence against him.
“How can you charge a person based on a video seen online on YouTube and yet you have not tested its authenticity? I don’t know that video and I don’t know who recorded it.”
Sikhala’s lawyer, Harrison Nkomo, also spoke during the hearing, saying that the prosecution had failed to provide sufficient evidence against his client.
“There is no evidence that our client committed the alleged offenses. There is no evidence that there was violence that was incited by our client,” Nkomo said.
Gofa postponed the matter to Wednesday this week, and Sikhala was taken back to Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison.
