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Hopewell Little, Zimbabwean journalist. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Aaron Ufumeli)
Two months after his release on bail, Hopewell Chin’ono, a prominent critic of the Zimbabwean president, was arrested again Tuesday night, prompting protests from media rights groups.
Zimbabwean police arrested a prominent journalist and documentary director on Tuesday night Hopewell Chin’ono.
In a statement late Tuesday night, the Republic of Zimbabwe Police confirmed the new arrest on allegations that, between October 25 and 27, 2020, the suspect used his Twitter account to post messages that they undermined the dignity, reputation and authority of the court. Secondly, the police said that Chin’ono has confirmed through his Twitter account that he is in “secret and illegal communication with members of the National Prosecutor’s Office. This undermines the integrity of the criminal proceedings against you. An investigation for corruption has been launched. “
The award-winning journalist was released on bail in September after spending about two months in preventive detention Accused of inciting Zimbabweans to rebel against President Emmerson Mnangagwa for allegedly failing to manage the affairs of the southern African country.
One of his lawyers, Gift Mtisi, said Daily maverick that Chin’ono had been arrested for allegedly violating the conditions of his bail after he posted messages on social media.
“We are at Harare Central Police Station at the moment and the police officers say that he violated the conditions of his bail by posting some messages on Twitter. The police have not yet shown us the tweets, ”Mtisi said.
Chin’ono also said Daily maverick that his arrest had been filmed by the police.
“There was a woman who was filming me when the police arrested me at my home and the police said they were filming me for their own records,” Chin’ono said by phone from the police station.
He said police claimed he had been arrested in connection with a tweet that affected the dignity of the Chief Justice of Zimbabwe, Luke Malaba, adding that the tweet in question did not violate any of the conditions of his bail imposed by the court that released him.
On the day that I was denied bail in July, Chief Justice Malaba was seen leaving the magistrates court in the morning.
The letter from the judges says it tells the magistrates how to rule.
The same thing happened when I was denied bail in Superior Court.How can we go to the courts that prepare sentences? pic.twitter.com/qimw1joEif
– Hopewell Chin’ono (@daddyhope) October 28, 2020
“The court ordered me not to tweet about mass protests and that tweet had nothing to do with mass protests, so I don’t know where the state’s problem lies,” Chin’ono said.
The national police spokesman, Deputy Commissioner Paul Nyathi, was unable to comment on Chin’ono’s arrest.
“We are still trying to determine the facts of the matter, but we will issue a statement as we have all the details,” Nyathi said.
Chin’ono, who returned to court on Monday for his routine pre-trial detention, requested that Harare magistrate Ngoni Nduna excuse himself from his case, arguing that he was convinced he would not get a fair trial if he remained president. The magistrate is expected to issue his ruling on the request for recusal next Tuesday.
Today is our day, journalists who have been victims of the violent brutality of the State of Zimbabwe!
I will be in court again today, where I ask the magistrate to recuse himself because based on his misdirected rulings, I will not come close to a fair trial before him! https://t.co/hySYbk4sgx
– Hopewell Chin’ono (@daddyhope) November 2, 2020
Meanwhile, media rights groups such as the Zimbabwe Chapter of the South African Media Institute (Misa-Zimbabwe) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) described Chin’ono’s arrest as an attack on media freedom in Zimbabwe.
“CPJ views Hopewell Chin’ono’s arrest today as yet another example of the harassment and victimization she has endured for her work and views as a journalist in Zimbabwe. We hope this is not an orchestrated attempt to revoke the conditions of his bail, ”said CPJ Africa program coordinator Angela Quintal.
“The Zimbabwean authorities should focus their efforts on the real criminals and not try to censor journalists. We urge the authorities to release Chin’ono immediately without charge and allow him to comment and express his views without fear of reprisal, “Quintal said.
Mass-Zimbabwe Director Tabani Moyo said Daily maverick that Chin’ono was being targeted by the Zimbabwean authorities for denouncing corruption in the procurement of Covid-19 medical supplies.
“The latest arrest is a demonstration that no journalist is safe in this country; at any time, they are governed by the law whereby the law is used as a weapon and targets those journalists who are considered to be writing or exposing the evils of society. In this case, the case of Hopewell’s exploits in the exhibition around the acquisition of Covid-19 equipment has put him in a very difficult situation in which even the conditions of the bail are very strict, ”said Moyo.
The spokesman for the main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, defender Fadzai Mahere, said that Chin’ono’s arrest showed that President Mnangagwa was presiding over “a fascist dictatorship.” The opposition, which claims that the 2018 presidential elections were rigged in Mnangagwa’s favor, argues that the human rights situation in Zimbabwe was rapidly deteriorating.
“The arrest of Hopewell Chin’ono is a new attack on the constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression and freedom of the media. It confirms our consistent position that Mr. Mnangagwa presides over a fascist dictatorship that has seen a chronic reduction in basic freedoms. Zimbabwe is in a state of crisis and there is an urgent need for the nation to return to legitimacy and democracy for that crisis to be resolved, ”Mahere said.
However the The Mnangagwa administration has denied that there was a political crisis in Zimbabwe after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa sent two delegations to Harare to assess the country’s political problems. DM
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