A ZIMBABWEAN court has acquitted a sexagenarian, who had been on trial after he was arrested and charged for allegedly participating in an anti-government demonstration organised to protest against President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration.
60 year-old Fidelis Garafa, who is a resident of Harare, was arrested by some Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officers on 28 November 2025 and charged with incitement to commit public violence as defined in section 187 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act as read with section 37 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.
During trial at Mbare Magistrates Court, prosecutors claimed that Garafa, who is employed at one of the country’s leading plastic pipes and fitting manufacturer in Harare allegedly persuaded his workmates Charles Nyamukacha, Adrian Nyamande and Mathias Manhimbe to participate in an anti-government demonstration that was reportedly intended to remove President Mnangagwa as the country’s leader in support of a call made by Blessed Geza, the late war veteran and former ZANU PF central committee member.
Prosecutors claimed that Garafa repeatedly invited Nyamukacha, Nyamande and Manhimbe to listen to Studio 7 whenever it was broadcasting in support of the intended anti-government demonstration, which was scheduled to take place on 31 March 2025 and after the radio news broadcast programme, he would persuade the trio to join him in the protest.
According to prosecutors, Garafa reportedly invited his three workmates to join in the anti-government protest and told them that “mangwana tirikuenda kunomacha, mukuru wenyika tirikuda kumubvisa,” which was translated to mean “Tomorrow, we will be going to march, the President of the country will be removed by us.”
The prosecutors charged that Garafa did not report for work on 31 March 2025 and went into central Harare, where he allegedly participated in the scheduled demonstration and was arrested by ZRP officers in the company of 94 other people, who reportedly took part in the protest and was subsequently charged with incitement to participate in a gathering with intent to promote public violence, breaches of the peace or bigotry as defined in section 187(1) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act as read with section 36(1)(a)(i) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.
Prosecutors said Garafa’s alleged conduct was unlawful.
Mbare Magistrate Tinashe Ndokera recently acquitted Garafa, who was represented by Kossam Ncube and Emmanuel Lawrence Chibwe of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights after discharging him at the close of the prosecution case and after ruling that prosecutors had failed to lead any evidence during trial to demonstrate that the 60 year-old Harare resident had incited anyone to participate in a gathering with intent to cause public violence.
Magistrate Ndokera ruled that there was no evidence of incitement established by state witnesses as none of them testified to being induced or in any way coerced to engage in the anti-government protest held in March 2025 and that if state witnesses, who testified during Garafa’s trial were to be believed, they only spoke of the accused person informing them of his own intentions to join the protest and not that he persuaded them to also join.
ENDS
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