Blessed Mhlanga

Blessed Mhlanga
Blessed Mhlanga
Born	Blessed Mhlanga
Occupation	Journalist
Employer	Alpha Media Holdings
Known for	Journalism
Partner(s)	Florence Mhlanga

Blessed Mhlanga (also known as Dhara B) is a Zimbabwean journalist known for his work as a senior journalist and head of the news department at Heart & Soul TV (HStv), a media outlet under Alpha Media Holdings (AMH). AMH also publishes prominent newspapers such as NewsDay, The Standard, and Zimbabwe Independent.

Mhlanga has been recognized for his commitment to press freedom and investigative reporting. He is currently pursuing a law degree at the University of Zimbabwe.

In early 2025, Mhlanga gained significant media attention following his arrest on February 24. He faced charges of incitement to public violence under Zimbabwean law. These charges were reportedly connected to interviews he conducted with Blessed Geza, a war veteran who had publicly criticized President Emmerson Mnangagwa and called for his resignation.

Mhlanga was detained for over 70 days, with several bail applications being denied. His detention drew widespread condemnation from local and international media rights organizations, human rights groups, and opposition political parties, who viewed his arrest as an infringement on press freedom. He was eventually granted bail on May 6, 2025. This was not his first encounter with authorities; he was previously assaulted and arrested in 2020, 2021 and 2022 (while reporting on the attempted arrest of an opposition politician, though he was later acquitted of those charges.) His legal representation in the 2025 case was handled by lawyer Chris Mhike of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights.

Verbal Assault by Terence Mukupe

On 24 May 2018, Blessed Mhlanga was verbally assaulted by the then deputy minister of Finance and Member of Parliament (MP), Terence Mukupe. The verbal assault took place during a live broadcast of Focus, a current affairs programme aired on SFM now Classic 263.

Mhlanga and Mukupe were in the studio to discuss a story published in the NewsDay on the 23rd of May 2018. In that story, the newspaper quoted Mukupe as having said that members of the military would not recognise Nelson Chamisa as President if he were to win the 2018 general elections. This story was based on a video recording of Terrence Mukupe speaking at a Zanu PF cell meeting held in Mandara, Harare.

The heated discussion resulted in Mukupe allegedly verbally assaulting Blessed Mhlanga and at the same time standing up in an attempt to assault him physically. At that point, Mrs Mhlanga who had accompanied her husband to the studio began to record the unfolding events on her mobile phone. This allegedly further angered Mukupe who ordered his two aides to seize Mrs Mhlanga’s cell phone; it was during this tussle that Mrs Mhlanga was physically assaulted and her jacket torn.

Mhlanga proceeded to report the matter at Highlands Police Station and a docket numbered RRB 35337572 was opened. Mukupe also filed a police report of assault against Mhlanga and his wife.

Mhlanga’s lawyer, Chris Mhike received summons from the police on behalf of his client, with the State demanding the appearance of Mhlanga in court on May 13 2019, almost a year after the alleged assault.

Mhlanga threatened to sue the government and Mukupe over the loss of an S7 Edge and the humiliation he and his wife suffered. He dismissed Mukupe’s apology saying the attempt by Mukupe was “… far from being an apology.”

He ridiculed Mukupe’s apology which he said was an insult to him, his wife, family and the people of Zimbabwe.

Arrests

2020

In July 2020, Mhlanga was arrested alongside Ruvimbo Nyikadzino of Sly Media at a police roadblock and charged with miscellaneous misdemeanour. He was taken to Mabvuku Police Station in Harare where he was detained briefly before being released. After his release, Blessed Mhlanga said he was on his way to cover a press briefing by Monica Mutsvangwa and Nick Mangwana.

He was only released after the intervention of the Zimbabwe Republic Police national spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi.

2021

On 26 November 2021, Mhlanga said he was arrested and detained for taking pictures at Zindoga, of police offices. In a tweet, Blessed Mhlanga said he was detained without charge. He added that a policeman struck his mouth with a fist and his teeth curved in. Mhlanga was charged with disorderly conduct and was detained for two hours. He was released after lawyer Chris Tinei Mhike intervened.

Mhlanga said he had to visit the hospital for treatment.

2022

On 7 May 2022, Blessed Mhlanga was arrested together with fellow colleague Chengeto Chidi while filming a documentary in Chitungwiza. The duo were filming a documentary on water challenges in Chitungwiza.

Mhlanga said his phone a Pro 40 Huawei was broken by police as they tried to get him to destroy footage as they arrested Job Sikhala.

2025 Arrest & Imprisonment

Prior to his arrest on February 24, 2025, reports indicated that police were searching for Mhlanga. He received a police summons for questioning and subsequently presented himself to the authorities, accompanied by his lawyer, Chris Mhike of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights.

Charges and Allegations

Mhlanga was charged with transmitting material or data messages intended to incite public violence. These charges stemmed from interviews he conducted and broadcast in November 2024 and January/February 2025 with Blessed "Bombshell" Geza. Geza, a war veteran, had publicly called for President Emmerson Mnangagwa's resignation and encouraged nationwide protests, citing issues of alleged corruption, nepotism, and economic mismanagement.  

The specific laws cited included Section 164 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act and potentially the 2021 Cyber and Data Protection Act. If convicted, Mhlanga faced a potential sentence of up to five years in prison and a fine. Authorities alleged that by broadcasting Geza's statements, Mhlanga was disseminating content that could incite public unrest.

Detention and Bail Proceedings

Following his arrest, Mhlanga was held in detention for 72 days, primarily at Harare Remand Prison and also reportedly at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison. His legal team made multiple attempts to secure his release on bail.

• Initial Bail Denial: On February 28, 2025, Harare Magistrate Farai Gwitima denied Mhlanga's initial bail application. The magistrate cited concerns that his release could lead to national unrest, undermine peace and security, and that Mhlanga, given his senior position at HStv, might interfere with state witnesses, many of whom were his subordinates.  
• High Court Appeal Dismissed: A subsequent appeal to the High Court was dismissed on March 21, 2025, by Justice Gibson Mandaza. The judge upheld the magistrate's decision, stating that Mhlanga's release posed a risk of interference with ongoing investigations.  
• Further Bail Attempts: Another bail application was made in the magistrate's court on April 4 but was dismissed on April 7, 2025, by Magistrate Donald Ndirowei, who cited a lack of changed circumstances.

Throughout the bail hearings, the prosecution, represented by Fungai Nyahunzvi, argued that Mhlanga was a flight risk, that there was electronic and video evidence linking him to the offense, and that his release could lead to interference with witnesses and a disturbance of public peace.

Mhlanga's defense team, which later included Advocate Thabani Mpofu (instructed by Chris Mhike), consistently argued that there were no compelling reasons for his continued detention. They maintained that Mhlanga was a journalist performing his professional duties and that the period during which the alleged incited protests were meant to occur had passed without any significant public disturbance, thus constituting "changed circumstances." The defense also filed an application with the Constitutional Court challenging the lawfulness of the arrest and the charges.

Awards

In 2019, Blessed Mhlanga won a Zimbabwe Election Reporting Award. The Zimbabwe Election Reporting Awards were held on 7 March 2019 by The Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe (VMCZ) He won the prize under the ‘Best 2018 Election Reporter’ for his article which went out of the ordinary to subject claims around the election voters’ roll to investigation.

Personal Life

Wife

Blessed Mhlanga is married to Florence.