Zimbabwe opposition leader found guilty of attending ‘unlawful gathering’

Court convicts Jameson Timba and 34 activists aft 5 months successful pre-trial detention.

A Zimbabwe tribunal has convicted an absorption person and 34 activists connected charges of participating successful an unlawful gathering, much than 5 months aft they were taken into pre-trial detention.

Jameson Timba, interim person of a faction of the splintered Citizens Coalition for Change absorption party, and the activists look up to 5 years successful situation oregon a fine.

Sentencing is acceptable for adjacent week, Webster Jiti, 1 of the defence lawyers, said.

The tribunal connected Friday acquitted 30 others who had been detained with Timba.

Police arrested the activists connected June 16 astatine Timba’s residence successful the capital, Harare, and charged them with disorderly behaviour and participating successful a gathering with the intent to beforehand violence, breaches of bid oregon bigotry. The tribunal successful September acquitted them of the disorderly behaviour charges.

Their lawyers said they were astatine the location for a barbecue to commemorate the Day of the African Child, a calendar lawsuit of the African Union.

Timba and the others were among the archetypal of astir 160 absorption figures and activists to beryllium rounded up earlier a July acme of the 16-nation Southern African Development Community successful Harare.

Amnesty International described the detentions arsenic “part of a disturbing signifier of repression against radical exercising their rights to state of peaceful assembly and expression”.

The rights radical called for an probe into allegations that immoderate of the activists were tortured portion successful constabulary detention.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who promised antiauthoritarian reforms aft taking implicit from longtime ruler Robert Mugabe successful a coup successful 2017, denied those allegations but has besides repeatedly warned the absorption against inciting violence.

Mnangagwa’s ZANU-PF enactment has been successful powerfulness since independency successful 1980 and is accused of stifling dissent.