MDC deputy chairperson, Job Sikhala, who is facing charges of subverting a Constitutional government has said that his persecution does not make him regret confronting President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government.
Sikhala was arrested and charged with subversion after he had remarked at an MDC rally in Bikita that his party would overthrow president Mnangagwa before 2023.
In an interview with News Day’s senior reporter Blessed Mhlanga (ND), Skhala (JS) said that the spirit of Herbert Chitepo, Josiah Tongogara, Itai Dzamara had possessed him. Below are excerpts from the interview.
ND: Are you shaken by these charges?
JS: The period to be shaken by dictators has long gone. To some of us, we happen to be modern fighters. It’s a commitment that I gave myself when I joined politics and the movement, not for the purpose of seeking anything, but seeking the liberty and freedom of our people.
So it is a committed mission that does not allow me to be shaken by these people. Prison for political deliverance has been home for true revolutionaries. Therefore, I cannot panic from being put in prison for the purposes of demanding the political freedoms of the people. Rather, it is an incentive.
Immediately after Sikhala was arrested, party spokesperson, Luke Tamborinyoka issued a statement distancing the party from Sikhala’s remarks saying that they did not represent the party’s position.
The party was criticised for being cowardice. The party’s youth league later rallied behind Sikhala saying the end game of the party was to overthrow ZANU PF.
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