By Staff Reporter
Jailed opposition leader Jacob Ngarivhume has instructed his lawyer, Professor Lovemore Madhuku, to file an appeal against his sentence and seek bail pending the appeal.
Ngarivhume was yesterday handed a 36-month prison sentence by Harare Magistrate Feresi Chakanyuka for alleged incitement to commit public violence in July 2020.
However, his legal counsel Professor Madhuku is determined to challenge the conviction, believing it to be unjust and politically motivated.
“We have been given instructions to file an appeal… so we are filing an appeal on Tuesday and we are also applying for bail pending appeal, so we expect our client to be out and be a free person in a week or so. We believe that the High Court will certainly not uphold the conviction. That’s our belief, we are very confident about that, and there is everything wrong with the conviction,” said Prof Madhuku
Professor Madhuku expressed his confidence in the appeal process, indicating that they are prepared to present a strong case to challenge the conviction.
“Even if the High Court upholds the conviction, we also believe the sentence of 36 months effective is outrageous by any calculation. You cannot send a political leader to prison for three years for merely tweeting what you consider to be incitement. Of course, a message must be sent out, but this particular sentence is completely outrageous.” Prof. Madhuku said.
The case against Ngarivhume arose from his alleged involvement in organizing anti-government protests in 2022. The opposition leader was arrested and subsequently convicted under charges of incitement to commit public violence, based largely on his social media post.
