ALPHA Media Holdings (AMH) chairman Trevor Ncube has bemoaned the decision by a Harare magistrate to deny senior journalist Blessed Mhlanga bail saying it was a travesty to justice.
Magistrate Farai Gwitima yesterday remanded Mhlanga in custody to March 14, saying his release would be a threat to national security following his arrest earlier in the week on charges of inciting violence.
Gwitima said Mhlanga was likely to interfere with witnesses, who are his subordinates.
He said the senior journalist disseminated messages that were likely to incite violence and breach peace.
Police arrested Mhlanga on Monday after he handed himself over following visits by law enforcement agents to HStv and NewsDay offices.
They said the charges were linked to the broadcast of Press conferences by Zanu PF central committee member Blessed “Bombshell” Geza.
Geza was demanding President Emmerson Mnangagwa to resign for allegedly seeking to hang onto power beyond the end of his term in 2028.
Ncube said the bail ruling by Gwitima did not come as a surprise because there was selective application of the law in Zimbabwe.
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“It’s no surprise at all, I think the surprise would have been if we had gotten a sense that the court had seriously applied themselves to the case that has been brought before them,” the AMH chairman told journalists outside court.
“It’s saddening, it’s heartbreaking, but that is what it is in terms of the selective application of the law in our country
“Criminals are let go scot-free. The innocent and the weak are subjected to law in a selective kind of manner.”
Mhlanga’s lawyer Chris Mhike is expected to apply to the High Court for bail pending trial.
“We are confident that in due time, Blessed is going to be allowed to enjoy the freedom that all of us are currently enjoying,” Ncube added.
“I think fundamentally important is the fact that there wasn’t any indication that the court realises that you are dealing with freedom of expression and Press freedom, and that Blessed did not say any of that stuff that he is alleged to have said.
“Blessed is not HStv, Blessed is not AMH. He is just a journalist practising his profession, which is constitutionally protected, just like you guys are doing here, broadcasting to the public at home.
“You can’t be accused of inciting the public for broadcasting what I am saying right now. I am the one who should be brought before the court, not the journalist who transmits the information.
“So I am disappointed in that regard, but this is the reality that we are in right now.”
Mhlanga’s arrest has been condemned locally and internationally as a gross violation of Press freedom.
