DETAINED Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) politician Job Sikhala’s allies yesterday said a new charge of disorderly conduct being levelled against the opposition legislator was an attempt to keep him behind bars till after the elections.
Sikhala is set to appear in court on Thursday on an alleged disorderly conduct charge, bringing to four the cases he has to answer to after being denied bail on the other three.
He has remained on pre-trial incarceration for the past 10 months after his arrest in June last year.
Sikhala was arrested for allegedly inciting public violence and disturbing police investigations following the murder of CCC activist, Moreblessing Ali early last year. His allies, operating under the moniker Friends of the Job Sikhala Trust, told NewsDay yesterday that the addition of a new charge was a deliberate attempt to alienate the legislator from the election process.
“The trust notes with deep sadness the perpetual persecution of Mr Sikhala. But the regime has made it clearer that this is nothing but a political battle as compared to legal which now calls for political action, we now need to speak with the voice of the oppressed. Regrettably, this is a well-calculated, deliberate effort to lock Job Sikhala behind bars beyond the forthcoming elections,” spokesperson of the grouping, Emmanuel Zellers Gumbo said.
Earlier this year, opposition Transform Zimbabwe leader Jacob Ngarivhume said there was need for extra-judicial action because the Judiciary had allegedly been captured.
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Constitutional law lecturer, Lovemore Madhuku also suggested that political negotiations were now the only realistic route to secure Sikhala’s release from prison.