A ZIMBABWEAN court has acquitted a ruling ZANU PF political party Councillor, who had been on trial after he was arrested and charged for allegedly inciting some residents to stage protests against President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
44 year-old Zivanai Zvida, who is the Councillor for Ward 24 in Zaka District in Masvingo province, was arrested on 1 April 2025 by Zimbabwe Republic Police officers, who charged him with incitement to commit public violence as defined in section 187(1) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act as read with section 36(1)(a) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.
During trial which commenced on 29 January 2026 at Zaka Magistrates Court before Magistrate Grace Tupiri, prosecutors alleged that Zvida on 31 March 2025 sent a message on a WhatsApp group for Ward 24 residents titled Ward 24 Development Agents, with the words “M31 Movement Munhu wese mu road Emmerson Mnangagwa has to go”. The prosecutors charged that by so doing, Zvida’s actions and message were meant to persuade or induce the general public to disturb the peace, security or order of the public and to incite violence through persuading residents, who were part of the WhatsApp group, to demonstrate against President Mnangagwa.
Zvida was reportedly an administrator of the Ward 24 Development Agents WhatsApp group together with the informant David Batsirai Majaura, who reported him to ZRP, and Cuthbert Chiguvi, the ZANU PF political party Youth Chairperson for Ward 24 in Zaka South constituency, Peter Hwezva and Godfrey Kutadza.
While under arrest, ZRP officers confiscated Zvida’s Samsung Galaxy mobile phone handset, which they sent for examination at the law enforcement agent’s Forensic Science Department Cyber Laboratory.
Zvida had to spend 16 days in both police and prison detention after he was denied bail at Zaka Magistrates Court on the reasoning that he was a threat to public order and security and was only freed on 17 April 2025 after he was granted bail by Masvingo High Court.
On 4 February 2026, Zvida was acquitted of charges of incitement to commit public violence after Magistrate Tupiri upheld his application for discharge at the close of the prosecution case. This came after his lawyer, Frank Chirairo of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, filed an application for discharge at the close of the prosecution case.
Through his application for discharge, Zvida argued that the evidence adduced during trial by three state witnesses namely Chiguvi, Archbald Muyambi, the ZRP Investigating Officer and Nyasha Mandebvu, a Digital Forensic Analyst at ZRP’s Cyber Laboratory, was so manifestly unreliable that no reasonable court could safely act on it.
Zvida argued that the offensive words “M31 Movement Munhu wese mu road Emmerson Mnangagwa has to go”, which were allegedly sent on a WhatsApp group by him, were not proven to have been sent on Ward 24 Development Agents WhatsApp group, by him.
In his ruling, Magistrate Tupiri ruled that that two of the state witnesses had only made some bold assertions and had not submitted evidence upon which a reasonable court could rely on to convict Zvida.
ENDS
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