Farai Dziva|The MDC has called for the dropping of charges against the party’s Youth Assembly Secretary General, Gift Ostallos Siziba.

Below is the party’s full statement :

MDC welcomes the relaxation of the bail conditions for our national Youth Assembly Secretary, Gift Ostallos Siziba

Secretary Siziba appeared at the Harare Magistrates courts on Monday morning

He is facing trumped up and politically motivated charges of inciting public violence.

The MDC Calls for dropping of charges against Secretary Siziba on the grounds that there is no reasonable basis to continue persecuting him.

As a matter of legality and principle, if the charges were genuine and substantial, a trial would have been conducted by now. As such, the delays are a clear indication that the charges are designed to persecute, harass, embarrass and abuse him.

The MDC views Secretary Siziba’s case like all other cases being faced by other MDC leaders, members of civil society and ordinary citizens as a form unacceptable political persecution.

He should not have been arrested in the first place as he did not commit any crime.

The democratic space is fast shrinking as a result of these wanton and relentless persecutions against anyone who seeks to express their views and exercise their Constitutional rights.

Indeed, constitutionalism and solidarity are our pillars as a movement and they will always remain as such. Not even illegal political persecutions can hold us back because we believe that Secretary Siziba, and indeed all our other arrested cadres are totally innocent.

As a way forward, the MDC strongly calls for all the charges against Secretary Siziba and all other political leaders and activists to be dropped immediately, unconditionally.

The MDC would like to thank all our party leaders and members who have been actively going to court in solidarity Secretary Siziba.

MDC: Celebrating 20 Years of Courage, Growth and the People’s Victories.

Daniel Molokele
MDC Spokesperson