MUTARE – Firebrand opposition politician Job Sikhala was on Saturday arrested in together with 21 associates for allegedly convening an unsanctioned meeting in Manicaland under his National Democratic Working Group, a pressure group formed when the former legislator was languishing in prison two years ago.
The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) placed the number of activists arrested together with Sikhala at 38.
“The former Zengeza West legislator and 38 other people were charged with contravening section 7(1)(b) of the Maintenance of Public Order Act,” said ZLHR in a post on their official X handle.
Practitioners from the lawyers group have been assigned to assist the group.
National police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the arrest of the activists, saying they were arrested in Mutare.
“I can confirm that Job Sikhala and 21 others have been arrested in Mutare. More details will be released in due course,” Nyathi was quoted as saying in the media.
Sikhala’s arrest will bring back memories of his 2022 arrest and lengthy stay in remand prison for allegedly instigating political violence in Nyatsime, Chitungwiza.
The opposition MDC founding legislator has been arrested more than 60 times since he began his activism at the turn of the century.
He remains one of the most aggressive opposition politicians in Zimbabwe.
The fate of the arrested remains uncertain as opposition politicians who have been accused of convening illegal gatherings have often endured lengthy periin Zimbabwe’s remand prisons amid accusations of a government attempt to punish them for challenging state excesses.
