THE High Court has reserved judgment in a case where Zengeza West legislator Job Sikhala (Citizens Coalition for Change) had made another attempt to secure bail.
Sikhala appeared before High Court judge, Justice Samuel Deme, his fourth High Court application. He is likely to spend Christmas in remand prison if Justice Deme does not determine his bail application on time.
Five previous applications were made at the lower courts.
The Zengeza West MP was arrested in July alongside 15 opposition supporters who included fellow lawmaker Godfrey Sithole for allegedly inciting public violence in Nyatsime after the brutal murder of CCC activist Moreblessing Ali.
The other 15 opposition members have since secured bail on separate occasions.
In the latest application through his lawyer, Advocate Thabani Mpofu, Sikhala said Harare magistrate Tafadzwa Miti erred in not granting him bail on the basis that he has propensity to commit violence.
Mpofu said the argument was misdirected as Sikhala has been arrested 63 times without being convicted.
He also argued that the magistrate’s refusal to grant bail on the basis that Sikhala had violated previous bail conditions in another matter should not be considered as he had not gone against them, while the utterances on the video where Sikhala is being accused of inciting public violence do not constitute public violence.
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Speaking after the court hearing, CCC spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere said the continued denial of Sikhala bail was a violation of the Constitution.
“Sikhala is innocent. He is behind bars for the work that he did as a lawyer representing (slain CCC activist, Moreblessing) Ali. To date we have not heard any sort of accountability in respect to the murderers of Ali, yet we have Sikhala who is being detained,” Mahere said.
