There was good news in Zimbabwe on July 22 when former member of parliament Job Sikhala was finally acquitted by the High Court of charges of “incitement to commit violence”.
Sikhala was arrested with fellow opposition leader Godfrey Sithole and 14 other men in June 2022. Amnesty International issued an Urgent Action appeal following their arrest. Sikhala spent 595 days in pre-trial detention until he was released in January 2024 after receiving a suspended two-year prison sentence. But it took another six months of campaigning before Sikhala’s wrongful conviction was quashed.
Despite the positive outcome in Sikhala’s case, the Zimbabwean authorities are still cracking down on dissent. Since mid-June, more than 160 people have been arrested, including politicians, union leaders, students and journalists. Amnesty is demanding an end to such violations and for all detainees to be released.