THE High Court yesterday acquitted Transform Zimbabwe party leader Jacob Ngarivhume, who was convicted for inciting public violence after he organised a march against fuel price increases in 2020.
Ngarivhume called for a march dubbed “July 31 movement” before his arrest and spending a year at Chikurubi Maximum Prison.
The political leader, who was represented by Lovemore Madhuku, had his appeal application upheld and conviction and sentence quashed by High Court judges of appeal Justices Pisirayi Kwenda and Fatima Maxwell.
The judgment was read on the operative part with the full judgment expected to be released later this week.
But in the brief reasons of the judgment reached after a unanimous decision, the judges said the State failed to prove the case against Ngarivhume, adding that the magistrate erred in convicting him.
“The conviction was based on the fact that he had not denied his association with the Twitter (now X) handle at the time he was charged by the police. The court found that it was evidence beyond reasonable doubt.
“It is trite that in any criminal case, the onus is on the State to prove the charge which the accused is facing. The burden of proof in criminal cases shall rest on the prosecution. A person shall not be guilty of or liable to be punished. The State did not lead any evidence to prove. It is clear from the record that the State knew they should produce evidence.”
The judgment further said the police knew there was need to link the accused to the words he reportedly uttered.
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“We were asked to examine the evidence and there was evidence which links to the accused. It would not be right to uphold the conviction. In the result, the appeal is allowed and the conviction is quashed,” the judges said.
Ngarivhume was denying the offence.
The magistrates court heard that he posted several messages on his X handle pertaining to the July 31, 2020 protests. The matter proceeded to trialand he was convicted and sentenced to 48 months, of which 12 months were suspended. Ngarivhume appealed both the conviction and sentence at the High Court.
