Jailed opposition leader Jacob Ngarivhume appeals against conviction, sentence

Jailed Transform Zimbabwe (TZ) leader Jacob Ngarivhume has appealed against his conviction and sentence.

The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) filed the papers on his behalf.

“We have on behalf of Transform Zimbabwe political party leader Jacob Ngarivhume, filed a notice of appeal against both his conviction sentence.

“Our lawyer Donsa Nkomo together with Professor Lovemore Madhuku argued that Harare Magistrate Feresi Chakanyuka grossly misdirected.

Ngarivhume was recently sentenced to 3 years imprisonment after conviction on allegations of inciting public violence.

“Apparently, ZLHR has secured the release of seven parents of students at Prince Edward High School who were arrested by Police for allegedly acting in a disorderly way when they were enquiring on the school fees levied for their children. They were detained at Harare Central Police Station.

“We succeeded in getting the 7 parents released from police detention after Paida Saurombe represented them.

“The 7 parents namely Julia Ndengu, Priscilla Makahwa, Rudo Tekwani, Tinashe Chisvo, West Ndengu, Kumbirai Marara, and one other who were detained for 8 hours, were warned had their names recorded before being released.”

However, one of the parents involved contradicted the ZLHR account saying there were neither formally arrested nor were charges levelled against them.

“The incident involving parents, myself included, did not result in any formal arrest. We were detained at Harare Central Police Station, not Milton Park Police Station as mentioned in other articles.

“There were no charges laid against any of the parents. We were detained without being charged, and no docket was opened.

“We were released without any record of arrest, and there is no official police record of the incident as an arrest.

“A complaint was lodged with Police General Headquarters about the unlawful detention without cause,” he said.

The parent added that the misreporting was damaging to his professional reputation as it portrays him as having been arrested, which he said is untrue.

He requested redress: “I therefore respectfully request the following:

“Remove my name from the article entirely, or amend the article to reflect the correct facts, including that no formal arrest or charges were made, and I was detained without cause.

“Please let me know if you need any additional information from me to process this request, and I would appreciate a prompt response to address the issues,” said the parent who could not be named for professional reasons.

Zwnews