By Staff Reporter
Former Zengeza West legislator Job Sikhala is set to be released after more than a year-and-a-half in prison after a Harare Magistrate court handed him a suspended sentence.
Sikhala together with former Chitungwiza North lawmaker Godfrey Sithole were last week convicted of inciting public violence in Nyatsime, Chitungwiza in the wake of Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) activist Moreblessing Ali’s funeral in June 2022.
Addressing journalists outside the court, Sikhala’s lawyer Harrison Nkomo said he is now a free.
Sikhala has been languishing behind bars for over 500 days while awaiting trial.
The extended detention has sparked serious concerns about the integrity of country’s judicial system.
Opposition activists regarded his detention as politically motivated and raised further concerns that the arbitrary use of the legal system was targeting opposition figures.
