OPPOSITION politician Job Sikhala and dozens of members from his National Democratic Working Group were arrested in Penhalonga, near Mutare yesterday for planning a meeting to deliberate on whether they should support war veterans in their call for President Emmerson Mnangagwa to step down.
Police spokesperson commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the arrest.
He said: “I can confirm that Job Sikhala and 21 others have been arrested in Mutare.
“More details will be released in due course.”
Zanu PF last year at its annual conference resolved to have Mnangagwa’s term that officially ends in 2028 extended by two years
The campaign has drawn strong opposition from war veterans led by outspoken former Zanu PF MP Blessing Runesu Geza, who has been addressing press conferences calling for the 82-year-old ruler to step down immediately.
On Friday Sikhala posted a message on social media praising Geza for his “bravery” in speaking out against Zanu PF’s misrule, calling his courage a beacon of hope for Zimbabweans fighting for democracy and human rights.
Geza, a Zanu PF central committee member, has been vocal in his criticism of the ruling party, accusing its leaders of personalising power and sidelining general citizens who were wallowing in poverty.
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Geza castigated President Emmerson Mnangagwa for his failure to tame festering corruption, which he said was bleeding the economy.
Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi told a recent Zanu PF meeting that police would be made to arrest Geza on alleged murder charges, referring to a case where the war veteran was acquitted by the courts.
Sikhala, who has been a victim of persecution by the Zanu PF regime, having spent 595 days in detention, commended Geza for his condemnation of the ruling party’s authoritarianism.
He was released from Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison on January 30, 2024 after he received a suspended two year prison sentence on two charges of publishing or communicating false statements prejudicial to the state and incitement to commit violence. The conviction and sentence were, however, quashed by an acquittal by the High Court on July 22, 2024.
In an interview with The Standard yesterday morning, Sikhala called for unity in the opposition front against Zanu PF misrule.
“Issues being raised by the war veteran leader Blessed Geza are issues that have currency with the masses of our people and affect every Zimbabwean,” he said.
“Geza raises a very pertinent and important issue of using the judiciary to settle political scores as witnessed not only during my persecution where I spent two years in pre-trial incarceration but the continued persecution of several other opposition political actors like Jameson Timba, Namatai Kwekweza, Robson Chere and many others.
“These are issues we need to resolve as a nation.”
Sikhala also said he was in agreement with Geza for his strong stance against Zanu PF’s bid to extend Mnangagwa’s term of office beyond 2028.
Zanu PF’s plot to extend Mnangagwa’s term to 2030 has sparked widespread concern, with civil society organisations vowing to fiercely oppose any attempts to subvert the constitution and undermine democratic principles.
“There is no other issue that has national consensus and has brought Zimbabweans together more than the attempt to amend the constitution to suit the ego of a single man,” said Sikhala.
“Zimbabweans are in complete consensus that this nonsense has to be thwarted. Geza is also raising the issue of the complete closure of the democratic space in the nation, which is a fact.
“Every sane Zimbabwean is in agreement with Geza that the political space needs to be opened for each and every Zimbabwean.
“So, he is correct that the national democratic revolution needs to be reset.”
Sikhala, the former opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) stalwart, now leader of the National Democratic Working Group (NDWG) mulls collaborating with the war veterans to fight Zanu PF.
He said the NDWG, would meet today to deliberate on whether to stand in solidarity with war veterans or not.“Collaboration should not be an individual glory-seeking escapade,” said Sikhala.
“That’s why Geza himself said the national grievances question can only be answered by every Zimbabwean,” he added.
“This is a national question, not a Sikhala question whether I will collaborate with the war veterans or not.
“What I know for a fact is that the majority of Zimbabweans will collaborate with them as the issues they are raising are genuine.”
