HARARE – Freelance journalist Hopewell Chin’ono and opposition politician Jacob Ngarivhume left prison on Wednesday night, 43 days after they were arrested accused of inciting public violence.

Two High Court judges on Wednesday separately granted bail to the two men, ruling that the lower court erred in denying them bail.

Ngarivhume was ordered by Justice Siyabona Musithu to deposit bail of Z$50,000, report three times weekly to a police station, surrender his passport and was also banned from using his Twitter account.

The judge said a lower court had erred in denying Ngarivhume bail.

The 42-year-old who leads the small Transform Zimbabwe party was detained after calling for anti-government protests on July 31 over corruption and the worst economic crisis in more than a decade.

Chin’ono, also arrested on July 20, is accused by prosecutors of using his Twitter account to agitate for the protests which President Emmerson Mnangagwa said were a plot by Western countries to topple his regime.

Magistrate Ngoni Nduna denied Chin’ono bail last week, ruling that the journalist was a threat to public safety because protests exposed the public to Covid-19. He also said July 31 was now more than just a date but a movement united by a demand for the fall of the ruling Zanu PF party, and the threat of protests existed for as long as Zanu PF was in power.

Justice Tawanda Chitapi said Ngoni had misdirected himself by making a finding that “it is the pendency of the planned demonstration until the government is removed that the date of July 31 should be assessed.”

Justice Chitapi said: “There is no reference in the tweets not in the previous ruling to indicate that continuity of demonstrations beyond July 31, 2020, was advocated for. July 31 was D-Day so to speak.

“July 31 came and is gone. It is certainly a now fact warranting the court to reconsider the previous decision… It is therefore clear on the evidence that it was all about July 31 and the fact that nothing happened and the day has passed is a new fact.

“I therefore determine that the magistrate was misdirected in fact and consequently in law to holding the passing of July 31, 2020, was not a new circumstance impacting on bail.”

Chin’ono was also barred from posting on Twitter until his case is finalised. He must reside at his given address, handover title deeds, surrender his passport to the court and report to the police two times a week.

Chin’ono’s lawyer Doug Coltart said outside court: “The fact that he has been incarcerated all this time is a huge injustice.”

He said the bail conditions were “too strict” and infringed on the journalist’s constitutional rights, particularly the Twitter ban.

Speaking outside Chikurubi Maximum Prison on Wednesday evening, Chin’ono said he would turn to Facebook to expose corruption.

Prevented from protesting by restrictions the government says are needed to stop the spread of Covid-19, activists have used a Twitter hashtag #ZimbabweanLivesMatter and #ZanuPFMustGo to criticise President Emmerson Mnangagwa and encourage global pressure on his government.

The detention of Ngarivhume and Chin’ono and arrest of dozens of activists has led to accusations that the government is persecuting the opposition, a charge the authorities deny.

The opposition has disputed Mnangagwa’s 2018 election, which took place after he replaced ruler Robert Mugabe in a coup, promising a break with Mugabe’s authoritarian style. – Staff Reporter/Reuters