Jailed Zengeza West MP, Job Sikhala, says he will not be bought by money or be cowed into abandoning the fight for democracy.
Sikhala has been in pre-trial detention at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison since June this year on allegations of inciting public violence and has been denied bail by the courts more than eight times.
The CCC vice chairman was arrested in the aftermath of violence that rocked the Nyatsime area in June this year following the murder of CCC activist Moreblessing Ali.
In his latest letter from prison shared on social media by his spokesperson, Freddy Michael Masarirevu, Sikhala characterised his imprisonment as persecution. Reads the letter:
<blockquote>
No amount of gold or silver or superlatives will break the solidity of my enduring spirit against all forms of persecution, machinations, plots, and conspiracies against myself. Ask those who know me better.
I urge all of you, dearest compatriots, to also remain resolute and unshaken in light of the vices in our nation. Keep your eyes on the ball.
I find bright spots in my willingness to make sacrifices, even against all forms of adversity. People are not freed by doing nothing but by making selfless sacrifices.
I might be suffering in prison because the precious life of Moreblessing Ali was terminated by those who have arrogated themselves that power, but my ‘persecution’ goes beyond that.
It is, to me, an effort to eliminate me politically and silence us all. Despite the laurel wreath of the present, I am resolute, unmoved, and unshaken here at Chikurubhi Maximum Security Prison.
Great men and women are remembered and counted among the marathon runners of history. The vicissitudes of the present are a test of endurance. I am prepared to run this race to the finish. This, let me emphasize, I am prepared to do.
The great warriors of the world are those not understood by the present but remembered by history in a legacy that will span centuries.
This will be the mark of men and women who are prepared to carry the fight for their ideas and ideals to the end, damn the consequences.
I am embodied by the great observation of the greatest man ever to live. In Africa, the good guys usually lose; they are imprisoned, tormented, tortured, killed, beaten up, or simply beaten down, but they are immortalized by history.
Let them throw me in jail, no matter how insurmountable the situation appears. I see victory all around. We shall be victorious.
May the Gracious Almighty God bless and protect all of you!
</blockquote>

Pindula News

"No Amount Of Gold Will Break My Enduring Spirit," Says Job Sikhala

Opposition MPs Job Sikhala and Godfrey Sithole are now worried about their safety after prison officials at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison considered sending MDC-T leader Douglas Mwonzora to their cells against their expressed wishes.
This was said by the duo’s spokesman, Freddy Michael Masarirevu in a statement issued on Sunday, 16 October 2022.
Masarirevu disputed Mwonzora’s claims on Saturday he had met Sikhala, Sithole and the other 14 CCC activists from Nyatsime who have been in pre-trial detention since June on charges ranging from inciting violence to public violence.
He said prison officials tried desperately to facilitate a meeting between Mwonzora and Sikhala yet the same officials have barred CCC leader Nelson Chamisa from visiting his colleagues. Wrote Masarirevu:
<blockquote>
Hon. Sikhala and Hon. Sithole want the public to know that on the 14th of October 2022, they were advised that Senator Douglas Mwonzora intended to visit them. 
This information came through the prison security team. The two declined the request and gave the officials their reasons, which were communicated on that very same day. 
On Saturday the 15th of October 2022, the same senior prison security officials came, informing them that Sen. Mwonzora had come to visit them, despite their express statement declining the request. 
Hon. Sikhala and Hon. Sithole again refused and opted to remain in their cells whilst Sen. Mwonzora waited outside the gate. 
Some prison officials confirmed today that Sen. Mwonzora did not even make it to the second gate. There are five gates one has to pass through to be able to see inmates.
It is very sad and unfortunate that a person as senior and learned as Sen. Mwnonzora would mislead the public into thinking that he met Hon. Sikhala and Hon. Sithole in prison. 
His public statement which he issued to members of the press whom he went with to Chikurubi Maximum claiming to have met both Hon. Sikhala and Hon. Sithole is therefore incorrect and should be dismissed with uttermost contempt. 
Hon. Sikhala and Hon. Sithole are very angry at some senior officials at Chikurubi for wanting to impose a visit on them. 
The security officials even made a suggestion that Sen. Mwonzora be allowed to come directly to their cells and guarantee privacy, a request that was turned down. 
As much as the gesture is appreciated, the Honourable MPs wonder why Sen. Mwonzora invited members of the press to come with him if the visit was genuine. 
Secondly, why would he even insist on visiting them when they had made it clear that they were not comfortable meeting him? 
The two are also questioning why officials allowed Sen. Mwonzora permission to visit them yet a similar request was denied for President Nelson Chamisa. 
The two are now worried and concerned about their welfare and security.
</blockquote>

Job Sikhala Living In Fear After Mwonzora Visit

Job Sikhala’s spokesperson Freddy Masarirevu has denied claims that MDC-T leader Douglas Mwonzora met the jailed Zengeza West MP at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison on Saturday.
This comes after MDC-T spokesperson, Witness Dube claimed that Mwonzora had met with Sikhala.
Mwonzora yesterday visited Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison where 14 other Nyatsime residents charged alongside Sikhala and Sithole are in pre-trial detention.
But Masarirevu told <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/thestandard/local-news/article/200002077/chamisa-denied-access-to-sikhala-as-govt-allows-mwonzora-to-visit-chikurubi-prison">The Standard</a> that Mwonzora did not see Sikhala on his visit to Chikurubi. He said:
<blockquote>
I don’t want to comment on Mwonzora’s visit. Just like any other person, he is allowed to visit Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison but I was with comrade Sikhala (yesterday) from 9 am to 12 pm and he told me clearly that he was not going to see Mwonzora. He does not want to see him. If they say he (Mwonzora) saw him, they are lying.
</blockquote>
Addressing journalists outside Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison, Mwonzora demanded the unconditional release of Sikhala, Sithole and the 14 other CCC activists.
Sikhala, Chitungwiza North MP, Godfrey Sithole, and the other CCC activists from Nyatsime were arrested on 14 June 2022 after attending the funeral of political activist Moreblessing Ali.
Ali was brutally murdered and her remains were dumped in a disused well and were only discovered three weeks after she had gone missing.
The Leader of Government Business in Parliament, Ziyambi Ziyambi, who is also Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/ziyambi-says-sikhala-has-been-denied-bail-because-he-violated-previous-bail-conditions/">recently told Senators that Sikhala has been denied bail by the courts because he allegedly violated past bail conditions in the past.</a>
Sikhala is said to have been arrested 67 times but has no single conviction.

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