Former Zengeza West MP, Job Sikhala, has been found guilty of publishing falsehoods prejudicial to the state when he allegedly tweeted that a police officer fatally struck an infant with a baton.
The alleged crime dates back to 2021 and relates to a viral video of a woman holding a baby in one hand and clutching onto a police officer with the other claiming the cop had killed the infant. 
In a post in X this Wednesday, the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) said Sikhala was convicted by Harare Magistrate Feresi Chakanyuka for allegedly communicating falsehoods but did not state if Sikhala has been sentenced for the crime. Said ZLHR:
<blockquote>
Magistrate Feresi Chakanyuka convicts former Zengeza West MP Hon. Job Sikhala for publishing falsehoods prejudicial to the state in a case in which he was arrested in 2021 for allegedly communicating falsehoods on X, when he allegedly tweeted that an infant had died on the spot in Harare after a Zimbabwe Republic Police officer had struck the baby with a truncheon.
</blockquote>
Former Mt Pleasant MP, Fadzayi Mahere was convicted of publishing falsehoods in April 2023 after she allegedly posted the same on video on X (formerly Twitter). She was fined US$500.
Amnesty International condemned Mahere’s conviction saying it was an assault on freedom of expression, and the government was using a non-existent law to prosecute her.
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Sikhala Found Guilty Of Publishing Falsehoods

Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere plans to appeal her conviction and sentence for communicating falsehoods prejudicial to the state following a two-year trial.
Mahere was on Wednesday ordered to pay a US$500 fine by Harare magistrate Taurai Manuwere or spend three months in jail.
Her lawyer David Drury told <a href="https://www.zimlive.com/mahere-set-to-appeal-conviction-and-sentence/">ZimLive</a> that the appeal process will start as soon as they obtain a transcript of the judgment. Said Drury:
<blockquote>
That process will be done in terms of the time limits provided by the rules and pragmatically, we await a transcript of the judgment which has been urgently requested but is not available today.
As soon as the appeal notice and grounds are settled and served, this will be shared given that the area of law is important, speaking as it does to freedom of expression which is a recognised constitutional right not only domestically but also in terms of international customary law instruments which ought to resonate and apply to our Law.
</blockquote>
Mahere was arrested in January 2021 for reposting on her Twitter handle, a video of a mother who was filmed tussling a uniformed police officer along Harare’s Second Street.
The unidentified woman was clinging to the police officer while holding a motionless baby with her other hand.
She was claiming that the cop had fatally struck her baby with his baton.
The police officer had been enforcing COVID-19 restrictions against pirate taxis at an illegal bus stop in Harare.
It later turned out that the child was not dead.
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Mahere Plans To Appeal Conviction And Sentence

Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) national pokesperson Assistant Commissioner, Paul Nyathi on Wednesday told Harare magistrate, Taurai Manuwere that Harare lawyer Fadzayi Mahere lied when she allegeldy tweeted that a baby had been killed by a police officer in 2020.
According to <a href="https://www.newzimbabwe.com/police-spokesperson-says-mahere-lied-as-dead-baby-tweet-trial-comes-to-an-end/">NewZimbabwe.com</a>, Asst Comm Nyathi was called in to testify after the State refused to accept his statement confirming the assault back then.
He told court that police only got to know of the incident on social media and when they were approached by senior government officials who wanted clarification over the matter.
Mahere’s lawyer, David Drury, ask why Asst Comm Nyathi had called his subordinates “errant” in a statement he issued on the incident.
In response, Asst Comm Nyathi said it was because the police officers did not report the incident to their superiors. He said:
<blockquote>
We said errant police officers because they did not report to their commanders and that showed they acted in an improper manner, however that does not take away the fact that the child was not killed.
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During cross examination by prosecutor Netsai Mushayabasa, Nyathi added:
<blockquote>
There was total chaos because of this false information. Even senior government officials were asking why this had happened.
ZRP is a public institution where if anything happened when the public are not clear they can check with station commanders to check if what is circulated is true or false.
</blockquote>
The State closed its case in August last year but the matter was postponed on several occasions.
Mahere, who is the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) spokesperson, is accused of publishing falsehoods.
She allegedly tweeted that a baton wielding police officer enforcing COVID-19 lockdown regulations had fataally struck one Rebecca Musariri’s child in Harare.
The ZRP refuted the claim and said the child was not killed.
A video of the incident went viral in 2020, with the mother clinging to a police officer claiming he had killed her baby.
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