Kucaca Phulu, a constitutional lawyer, has said that Job Sikhala’s arrest was politically motivated and could have been finalised sooner.
Sikhala has been in remand prison for over a year after being arrested on charges of incitement to commit violence and disorderly conduct stemming from his attendance at the funeral of Moreblessing Ali, a Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) activist.
Ali had been missing for three weeks before her mutilated body was discovered on June 11, 2022.
Sikhala is at Harare’s Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison while his co-accused, Godfrey Sithole was released in November, along with 14 other CCC activists.
In response to inquiries about why Sikhala has spent so much time in prison without being convicted, Phulu assumed judges did not want to be involved fearing capture by the Executive since the legislator’s detention seemed to be politically motivated.
“I think Sikhala’s case is highly politically orchestrated and judges refusing to preside over the matter shows you that it is the initiative of the judges to do this,” he said, claiming that some judges did not want to be dragged into political fights.
“It’s a form of protest in the judiciary and sometimes they (Executive) find a particular judge who can handle the matter. You know, the (2017) coup has divided the State on a number of levels including in the judiciary and two, one of judges colleagues’ High Court Judge, Justice Erica Ndewere was dismissed specifically for dealing with these matters,” Phulu said.
Justice Ndewere was fired after a tribunal found her guilty of gross incompetence but she asserted that she was punished for disobeying unlawful instructions by her bosses, Chief Justice Luke Malaba and Judge President George Chiweshe.
She alleged that the two attempted to control her decision-making process in two cases, involving high profile figures, former Minister Prisca Mupfumira and then MDC Vice-Chairperson Sikhala.
When Justice Ndewere was suspended before her matter was referred to the tribunal, she lost her wages and benefits, while the government withdrew security at her home and threatened to take away her vehicles.
Meanwhile, Phulu noted there is a high level of judicial interference by the Executive seen in Justice Ndewere’s case.
“That’s why Justice Ndewere was dismissed. Then you come to my office and say deal with this matter, in other words, you are telling me how to deal with it. So this is an indication that the judges themselves are protesting in the only way they can that there is a high level of judicial interference by the Executive,” he said.
“ I believe Job Sikhala’s case is a simple case, which could have been handled in a month or two. In fact, I see no reason whatsoever why a lawyer who was representing his clients or a Member of Parliament who was representing people in his constituency, whichever way you want to look at it, should not be granted bail.”
The lawyer said it was puzzling why Sikhala could not be granted bail yet his co-accused, Sithole is out on bail.
“There’s a long story about Job, from the time he was abducted and the kind of issues that were there. I believe there are deep political issues. If there are no deep political issues, the judiciary could extricate itself and deal swiftly with the matter so that it could is over one way or the other then look at the right to appeal and then judge each other” Phulu said,
He also noted that under any circumstances, if someone spent time in remand prison for so long was ‘horrible,’ which happens too often in Zimbabwe’s system due to failure by court to finalise cases.
“If you go to Khami Prison, you see so many people on remand but some of the issues are just the failure of the judiciary to do their job. In the case of Job I believe there are political issues, which means there are deep seated problems that our judiciary is facing and these are escapades and attempts of capture,” Phulu said.
On May 3, 2023, Sikhala was convicted of obstructing justice and was given a wholly suspended six months sentence with an option of paying US$ 600 or spending six months in jail.
However, following his conviction and sentencing, Sikhala remained in custody, as he awaits trial for two other charges of incitement to commit violence and disorderly conduct.
Sikhala becomes the second opposition lawmaker to endure lengthy imprisonment after founding MDC MP for Chimanimani Roy Bennett was jailed one year for assaulting then justice minister Patrick Chinamasa in Parliament in 2004.
