MDC national vice chairperson Job Sikhala, who is battling subversion charges and last week had his case moved from the Bikita Magistrates’ Court to Masvingo High Court, has said he will not be cowed into silence by President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration.

The fiery opposition leader said his party will take the offensive to Zanu PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa’s doorstep.

Sikhala, who addressed an impromptu rally outside the Bikita Magistrates’ Court after his court appearance last week, said he knew the law very well and was convinced he did not commit any crime.

He claimed that what he is alleged to have said about removing Mnangagwa from power was within his rights.

“I am not just the accused person but I am one of the best and most brilliant lawyers in this country. I am not bothered at all about this process. In authoritarian and tyrannical systems that are founded on abuse of the rule of law and constitutionalism, this is very common.

“There is nothing to be surprised about because our regime, like its sister regimes of the past, try to survive on the use of various institutions of the State to thwart any form of perceived or real threat to their grip on power,” said Sikhala.

Sikhala declared that Zanu PF could silence any other person but not him, saying he was prepared to die fighting for the freedom of the people of Zimbabwe.

“You can silence other people but not Job Sikhala. A person like me will never be silenced, there will be blood. We are prepared to die for the freedom of the people of Zimbabwe.

“Just like the great military commander Josiah Tongogara, who died fighting for the freedom of our people, Job Sikhala is prepared to die. This generation of today has its own liberation fighters in the form of Advocate Nelson Chamisa and Job Sikhala.

“If they think they will cow us into submission, they are mistaken because this is the beginning and we are now coming for them. Hokoyo Mnangagwa! We will never be afraid. We shall keep demanding the freedom of our people. As long as our people are suffering we will never be silenced,” said Sikhala.

He said Mnangagwa did not care about the suffering masses as he lives an extravagant lifestyle hiring private jets from Dubai to fly him even on local trips to the tune of millions of dollars.

“We have relatives who are teachers whose salaries cannot even buy underwear but we have a President who spends millions hiring private jets. People have no jobs and we will not be silent about it.

“The use of the judiciary for purposes of settling political scores has never been a sustainable strategy in several jurisdictions including our own during the period of Ian Smith. Command justice is only applied by people who lack confidence on how to manage the state of affairs.

“Since the coup in November 2017, we noticed excessive use of military and police power to abuse citizens of our country. We will keep fighting for our people. Even Smith never thought one day he would be removed from power but it happened,” said Sikhala.

Sikhala rallied people to throng the Masvingo High Court on January 27 to send a message to President Mnangagwa that he will not subvert the will of the people.

“We need to flood the High Court on January 27. We need thousands of our supporters to come and make a statement that we stand with our leaders when they are demanding our freedom and our liberation. Musi wa27 hakudyiwi kuMasvingo,” said Sikhala.

Sikhala found himself in trouble with the law in July while campaigning for the Bikita East Ward 30 local authority by-election when he allegedly said that he would remove President Mnangagwa from power.

MDC national youth secretary for information and publicity Steven ‘Sakorzy’ Chuma said the Zanu PF government needed to be removed from power ‘because it has caused immense suffering in the country’.

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