Jailed opposition legislators in Zimbabwe denied bail for 4th time

By Jeffrey Moyo

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AA) - Two Zimbabwean lawmakers, who were jailed in June following accusations of inciting public violence, have been denied bail for the fourth time.

Job Sikhala and Godfrey Sithole, both from the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), had applied for bail for the fourth time on “changed circumstances” after their previous bids were quashed by a Harare magistrate.

Denying the bail, Magistrate Feresi Chakanyuka at the Harare Magistrate’s court said: “Nothing has been placed before the court to prove that what the two had been denied bail for initially has been addressed. Passage of time cannot be used as an excuse to be granted bail.”

On June 14, Sikhala and Sithole were arrested over a speech the former allegedly gave following the death of Moreblessing Ali, a CCC activist in a suspected case of murder.

Eighteen days after she went missing, Ali’s mutilated body was found tossed in a well in the vicinity of her alleged murderer, Pius Jamba’s home.

On their arrest two months ago, Sikhala and Sithole were denied bail by the chief magistrate, Faith Mushure, who ruled the two accused were likely to reoffend if granted bail.

Beatrice Mtetwa, the pair’s lawyer, has said the state has no evidence linking the two to the alleged offense.

“The human rights situation in the country is scarier now and has turned out to be worse than under Mugabe,” said Mtetwa, a top Zimbabwean human rights lawyer who has handled a litany of prominent rights-related cases in the southern African nation.