Tinashe Sambiri|The Zanu PF leader Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa faces protests at CCC deputy chairperson Hon Job Sikhala’s prolonged detention.
Hon Sikhala spent the festive season in prison after being arrested in June for denouncing the brutal murder of CCC activist Moreblessing Ali.
CCC Namibia has called for the immediate release of Hon Sikhala.
See statement below:
No Happy New Year Without Job Saro Wiwa Sikhala
CCC Namibia fumes!
02 January 2023
Citizens Coalition for Change(CCC) Namibia demands more action from the opposition parties, civil society organizations, human rights defenders, the church, students, and all progressive citizens advocating for the freedom to be administered without fear or favor. It is quite infuriating to continue glimpsing the weaponization of the law by the clueless Harare regime which has failed dismally to put the economy back on the rail.
The residents of Zimbabwe and the globe must amplify their voices by democratically pressuring the autocratic regime to respect the constitution and rule of law. Job Saro Wiwa Sikhala has now endured 201 days in the hell-hole of Chikurubi Maximum Prison. He was denied bail on 12 occurrences, which is clear selective application of the law. The truth of the matter is that ZANU-PF controls the judiciary, they interfere with the judiciary processes compelling the judges to be biased against all voices of dissent. Bail is a constitutional liberty enshrined in the supreme law of the motherland.
Citizens Coalition for Change Rundu Branch Interim Chairperson Simbarashe Ndoda expressed his disgruntlement in the way Job Saro Wiwa Sikhala’s case is being politicised. “The people of Zimbabwe at home and abroad should do more action to ensure that our vibrant and energetic interim Vice Chairperson is released from jail”, Ndoda said. He went on to advise the prison officers to stop abusing Wiwa’s right to health since there are various reports that the prisoner of conscience is being denied access to medical services.
Constitutionalism provides the right to demonstrate against gross incompetence and lack of capacity to better the people’s livelihoods. Citizens should wake up and smell the coffee. We should exercise our constitutional rights to petition and demonstrate our displeasure with the way the democratic space is being shrunken by desperate dictators. Namibia district demands more than we have done before. Let’s show Mr. Mnangagwa our capacity to confront to achieve freedom, equality, and justice through democratic means.
We are cognizant of the fact that ZANU-PF intends to break Wiwa’s revolutionary commitment and dedication to fight for democracy in Zimbabwe. He is in jail since 14 June 2022 just because he was Moreblessing Ali’s family lawyer who made noise until the deceased body was found in a disused well owned by the Chisango family who are bonafide ZANUPF members and activists. Job Sikhala is suffering from suspected colon cancer, we demand his freedom. Criticizing alleged state-sponsored abductions is neither obstruction of justice nor incitement to public violence. It is a just call for the respect of the fundamental basic human right to the sanctity of life.
ZANU-PF perpetrators such as the Nyatsime councillor whose video went viral banning CCC members at Mob’s funeral. He was on record inciting public violence which resulted in the abduction and torture of 20 women at Moreblessing Ali’s homestead. The councillor openly declared the Nyatsime area a ‘No Go Area’ for Citizens Coalition for Change. He is walking scot-free when our leader is languishing in jail for defending the vulnerable. Abton Mashayanyika, Owen Mudha Ncube etc were threatening violence worse than that of 2008 which left thousands dead and maimed.
Abton Mashayanyika said Chamisa and his supporters must be killed, but no arrest has been effected by the partisan police force which takes instructions from the shake-shake building resulting in the selective administration of the law. We saw Hon Jasmine Tofa with broken arms, a victim of state-sponsored violence in Matobo. Known perpetrators are still roaming the streets threatening more violence to the opposition, this must be resisted with equal measure. We demand an end to this lawfare. Citizens must be equal before the law. Only CCC activists are jailed for inciting violence when the real authors of violence are walking free, we need to peacefully defy this!
Moreblessing Ali is yet to be buried since June because her family lawyer is still incarcerated on trumped-up charges.
The extinct was gruesomely butchered for exercising her freedom of assembly and association with the people’s favorite political behemoth, the Citizens Coalition for Change led by the eloquent change champion in-chief President Advocate Nelson Chamisa.
We demand justice for Moreblessing Ali, the family continues to be tormented by the state which tried in vain to bury Moreblessing Ali’s remains without the consent of the immediate family. This is quite pathetic and beyond Satanism! We need new leaders in Zimbabwe for a better lifestyle.
If we don’t take peaceful action against this attempt to silence voices that speak audibly against the abuse of human freedoms, it will be a mammoth task to defend our vote in the impending watershed elections sometime in July or August this year. It needs courage, nerve, and mettle to defeat totalitarianism hence the dire need to embrace dangerous freedom against the perpetual incarceration of Job Saro Wiwa Sikhala. Our Interim Vice Chairperson needs our physical, moral, and financial support for him to be released from jail.
There are a lot of peaceful avenues for putting political and diplomatic pressure on the satanic Harare cabal. It is now imperative to draw this matter to regional, continental, and international bodies that deal with human rights and fundamental freedoms. SADC should stop sympathizing with the so-called revolutionary parties to the detriment of the citizenry. African Union, must remind Mr. Mnangagwa that Zimbabwe is a signatory of the African Charter. We need peaceful action that will expose our neighbours who are trying to hoodwink the unsuspecting world.
SADC should denounce this crackdown on the citizens who criticize the abuse of human rights in Zimbabwe before they blame sanctions.
ZANU-PF must religiously follow the constitution and constitutionalism. Allow the opposition to criticize corruption, state-sponsored abductions, political violence, long pre-trial detentions, and arbitrary arrests in a purportedly democratic country.
NoHappyNewYearWithoutJob
FreeJobSaroWiwaSikhala
WiwaIsInnocent
HealthIsABasicRight
JusticeForMob
Citizens Coalition for Change Namibia
Rundu Branch Interim Spokesperson
Robson Ruhanya