Zimbabwe Government to speak on Chin’ono, Ngarivhume arrests

Government will this weekend officially issue a statement on the arrests of the remanded duo of award winning Zimbabwe journalist Hopewell Chin’ono and Transform Zimbabwe frontman Jacob Ngarivhume, who both face charges of inciting public violence.

According to Government spokesperson Nick Mangwana, Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Monica Mutsvangwa will address local journalists to clear the air on the arrests of the two at her Munhumutapa offices in Harare on Saturday.

Ngarivhume, who convincingly mobilised Zimbabweans to set July 31 as the date for anti-government street protests appeared in court on Thursday and was remanded in custody to August 14 while Chin’ono was on Friday also denied bail and remanded to the 7th of August.

The latest developments imply that the two will not be able to be part of the looming demonstrations on 31 July.

The Harare administration has traditionally been blamed for using state security apparatus to crush public dissent amid agonising economic woes.

From the era of dethroned late Zimbabwe despot Robert Mugabe to the incumbent regime of his predecessor and longtime understudy Emmerson Mnangagwa, the Zanu PF Government has had the notoriety of depending on the security forces to stifle the dissent typifying the general populace.

Ironically, the same security forces played a leading role in the November 2017 dramatic removal of Mugabe in a barefaced coup euphemistically referred to as Operation Restore Legacy by state apologists.

Zwnews