HARARE – The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum has urged the unconditional release of opposition politicians Job Sikhala and Jacob Ngarivhume insisting their incarceration was against regional and international agreements that guarantee freedoms of rights defenders.
Sikhala, the Zengeza West legislator and lawyer, has endured nearly 11 months under pre-trial detention for alleged violence incitement during slain Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) activist Moreblessing Ali’s funeral wake in Nyatsime last year in June.
His many attempts to secure bail have been blocked by both the magistrates and High Courts.
Ngarivhume, who is Transform Zimbabwe leader, was Friday sentenced to an effective three years’ imprisonment for inciting violence charges which arose from a tweet in which he called for protests against unbridled corruption by Zimbabwean elites under the Zanu PF administration.
Several CCC activists, among them legislators Joanna Mamombe and Godfrey Sithole, have been prosecuted for charges relating to convening unlawful gatherings and inciting public violence.
Many are currently on bail as the state presses on with their prosecution.
The prosecution of Sikhala and Ngarivhume has invited wide condemnation from within and outside the country amid signs the Zanu PF led administration was hell-bent on abusing its control of the police and judiciary to punish opponents.
In a statement Monday, the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum called on Zimbabwean authorities to “facilitate the unconditional release of all political prisoners in Zimbabwe as well as withdrawing stringent bail conditions and additional criminal charges on political prisoners that serve to continuously impinge upon their constitutional guarantees to freedom of movement and liberty”.
The rights group also urged Zimbabwean authorities to, “in all circumstances, ensure the protection and respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenants and Civil and Political Rights”.
“Conform to the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Defenders, which provide specific protections to human rights defenders that include the right to conduct human rights work individually and in association with others.
“Pay due regard to regional best practices regarding pre-trial detention and show this commitment by domesticating and enforcing the principles and guidelines on the right to a fair trial and legal assistance in Africa proclaimed by the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights.
“Create and safeguard a conducive operating environment for Human Rights Defenders in Zimbabwe and show genuine commitment to do so by; immediately condemning the criminalisation of legitimate human rights activism by members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police and the judiciary,” said the group.
