A Zimbabwe court late Wednesday sentenced the interim leader of the country's main opposition party to two years in jail - then suspended his sentence and the sentences of 34 of his supporters.
Magistrate Collet Ncube sentenced Citizens Coalition for Change leader Jameson Timba and supporter Jaison Kautsa to two years imprisonment, while the other 33 opposition party members got lesser sentences for participating in an unlawful gathering on June 16.
All were set to be released from prison.
They were among the first of about 160 opposition figures and activists to be rounded up before a July summit of the 16-nation Southern African Development Community in Harare. The charges were gathering with the intent to promote violence, breaches of peace or bigotry.
A statement from the National Prosecuting Authority confirmed the sentences and went on to say they were “wholly suspended for five years on condition that the accused do not commit an offense involving unlawful gathering with intent to promote public violence for which they will be sentenced to imprisonment without the option of a fine.”
Takunda Jacob from Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights – which has been representing group members – told reporters waiting outside the court that one of his clients from the group would remain in custody while she is treated for wounds suffered during the arrest.
He said it will be determined next month if the woman, who has a broken leg, is fit to stand trial.
Jacob said she could be in custody until December 14.
He said he was not pleased about the judgment.
"We await further instructions from clients, if they wish that we appeal against the judgment, we'll proudly do so because we are not with judgment,” Jacob said.
That view is shared by Daniel Molokele, a human rights lawyer and an opposition legislator, who is urging that democratic space and tolerance be provided for the opposition.
“It is indeed a very sad day, because what we have are people who are expressing their political rights, and they get criminalized," Molokele said. "I pray and hope that they will appeal, against the sentence, against the conviction. As things stand, we have criminalized the political space, we have criminalized the democratic space, there is no freedom in Zimbabwe."
Student activist Makomborero Haruzivishe said the conviction of former senator Timba shows a lack of democracy in Zimbabwe.
“It's a conviction on Zimbabwe’s collective political conscience, it's a conviction of Zimbabwe’s justice system. Senator Timba was arrested for offering young people his private residence, home, a place to come and commemorate the Day of the African Child," Haruzivishe said. "The Day of the African Child came about when the apartheid, colonial regime in South Africa, massacred multitudes of young people, school-going children, African youths, South African youths.”
Zimbabwe’s information minister Jenfan Muswere could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.
Initially police arrested about 100 opposition activists at Timba’s home in June while commemorating the Day of the African Child, and some were released for reasons that remain unclear.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa's ZANU-PF party has been in power since independence in 1980 and is frequently accused of suppressing any dissent. Since coming to power in 2017, however, Mnangagwa has consistently said that he respects human rights.
