Blessed Mhlanga's Trial Stalled Due To Incomplete Docket
The State has failed to provide a trial date for Blessed Mhlanga, a senior journalist with Heart & Soul TV, citing that the investigating officer had not attached witness statements to the docket.
Mhlanga on Tuesday, 22 April, appeared before Harare magistrate Ruth Moyo, who remanded the matter to 30 April for the provision of a trial date.
In the application for postponement, prosecutor Takudzwa Jambawu explained that the investigating officer had failed to include the necessary witness statements in the case file.
He further stated that the officer was currently unavailable, having been deployed outside the court’s jurisdiction.
Mhlanga’s lawyer, Chris Mhike, expressed disappointment, arguing that the journalist had already been in custody for an extended period.
Mhlanga was arrested on 24 February 2025 and is facing charges under Section 164 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act for allegedly transmitting data messages that incited violence and damage to property.
The charges relate to interviews he conducted with Blessed Geza, a war veteran and outspoken critic of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration.
It is alleged that, on 27 January this year, Mhlanga recorded and uploaded a video to YouTube inciting public violence. The court heard that the video included the following statements:
It is clear that (President Emmerson) Mnangagwa has failed. He is not fit to run this country and his time to go is now. We ask him to go peacefully.
If he refuses to take heed of this advice, we have no option but to ask the people of Zimbabwe to deal with a rogue President…
The prosecution further alleged that on 11 February this year, Mhlanga broadcast another video on the same online platform, which also purportedly sought to incite public violence.
More: NewsDay
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