Job Sikhala, a prominent opposition figure in Zimbabwe, has been fined and given a nine-month suspended prison sentence for publishing falsehoods on social media.
Harare magistrate Feresi Chakanyuka delivered the sentence to Sikhala, a former Zengeza West legislator, on Thursday, stipulating that he must refrain from committing a similar offense in the future.
Sikhala, who was convicted last week for disseminating falsehoods, was also fined US$500, with payment due by March 4, 2024. Failure to pay will result in a two-month prison term.
In response to the verdict, Sikhala’s lawyer, Harrison Nkomo, argued that his client should never have been charged under a law previously ruled unconstitutional by the top court.
“We are going to file our appeal to express our dissatisfaction with the judgement. We disagree with it. It lacks foundation, it is unsound, and it is wrong for a court to convict someone based on a law that no longer exists,” stated Nkomo.
Sikhala, an outspoken official with the main opposition Citizens Coalition for Change party and a former member of parliament, is viewed by many as a symbol of resistance against Zimbabwe’s ruling ZANU-PF party and President Emmerson Mnangagwa. He was arrested in June 2022 in connection with the killing and dismembering of an activist from his party.
Sikhala denied the charges, asserting that he was acting as the family’s legal representative, aiding in the search for the missing activist, Ali, whose body parts were later found in a well.
The 52-year-old Sikhala was convicted in January and given a suspended sentence, allowing his release from the harsh and overcrowded Chikurubi maximum security prison, where he had spent almost two years in pre-trial detention on unrelated charges. He accuses the government of using the courts as weapons and is due to appear again on Friday.