Zimbabwe: Jailed Dissident Journalist, Opposition Leader Kept in Leg Shackles

Authorities in Zimbabwe are keeping an investigative reporter and an opposition leader in leg shackles after arresting them and denying them legal representation, local media reported Wednesday.

According to the New Zimbabwe, Jacob Ngarivhume and Hopewell Chin’ono are being kept in leg shackles and under constant surveillance at the Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison outside Harare. The newspaper published low-resolution photos allegedly of the pair in the shackles.

Police arrested the men last month on charges of supposedly calling on supporters to “participate in public violence” after they backed nationwide protests demanding the removal of far-leftist President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s regime. Chin’ono had recently come to prominence for his investigative work uncovering allegations of corruption concerning the procurement of coronavirus supplies by the Zimbabwean Health Ministry, prompting the health minister to resign.

Last week, the group Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) released a statement describing violations of the pair’s constitutional and human rights, which included being denied access to their lawyers and not being provided any food. The pair were offered sadza, a maize flour porridge made in Africa, but had to reject it for medical reasons.

“Of concern to ZLHR is the welfare of Chin’ono and Ngarivhume who have been left with no access to food as the two do not eat sadza for medical reasons but they were advised that ZPCS only serves sadza in prison,” the statement read. “Because both Chin’ono and Ngarivhume are on medication, they would need access to a balanced diet while in prison.”

Such concerns were echoed by the U.S. Embassy in Harare, calling for the men’s release.

“Denying bail and using the legal system to jail journalist Hopewell Chin’ono, Transform Zimbabwe leader Jacob Ngarivhume, and others for exercising their rights undermines democracy and freedom of speech,” the embassy wrote on Twitter.

After replacing the late dictator Robert Mugabe in 2017, Mnangagwa promised to call free and fair elections and bring in a new, more prosperous era for the troubled African country. However, the veracity of the results of the 2018 presidential election remain highly disputed after Mnangagwa claimed a convincing victory over his opponent Nelson Chamisa.

Since that election, he has continued to preside over a far-left regime largely indistinguishable from his predecessor, responsible for egregious human rights abuses and a major economic and humanitarian crisis exacerbated by the Chinese coronavirus pandemic. Last November, the United Nations warned in a report the country was on the brink of “man-made starvation” as a result of major food shortages caused by high unemployment, rampant corruption, and hyperinflation.

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