Detained journalist Hopewell Chin’ono vows to continue reporting on corruption

“I’ve been denied bail because I reported what the organisers of the #31July demonstrations said. Journalism has been criminalised. The struggle against corruption should continue”, arrested Zimbabwean journalist Hopewell Chin’ono said on Friday.

Chin’ono was arrested at his home on Monday 20 July and accused of supporting calls by Jacob Ngarivhume for a planned protest against corruption on 31 July. Ngarivhume was also arrested separately on the same day, but charged with Chin’ono and alleged to have contravened Section 187(1)(a) as read with section 37(1)(a)(i) of the Criminal Law [Codification and Reform] Act: “Incitement to participate in public violence.”

The two appeared in court separately with Ngarivhume the first to be denied bail by Magistrate Trynos Utahwashe and remanded in custody to 14 August.

Chin’ono is accused of using his Twitter account @daddyhope to call for the removal of a constitutionally elected government through an uprising. It is not yet clear who deleted Chin’ono’s Twitter account at the time of his arrest.

The state opposed bail on the grounds that Chin’ono was likely to interfere with witnesses and that his reporting and social media messages may incite the public to demonstrate against the government on #31July.

Ngarivhume, who leads non-government organisation Transform Zimbabwe, called for nationwide demonstrations against corruption and was echoed by Chin’ono on his Twitter account. The message was received by many Zimbabweans on social media.

Earlier in July, Zimbabwean authorities banned prison visits after four prison officers and seven inmates tested positive for Covid-19. There are growing fears of an outbreak in the overcrowded prisons.

Chin’ono’s legal counsel Doug Coltart told Daily Maverick:

“Hopewell’s detention is clearly unjust and unjustifiable, in particular the refusal to allow him to wear PPE in prison and allowing us to sanitise his cell. It’s unjustifiable and places him at serious risk, given that there is currently an outbreak of Covid-19 in the cells. 

“It betrays governments sincerity in claiming that they are arresting them due to fears around Covid-19 when in fact they are not taking necessary and easy precautions to actually prevent them from catching the virus themselves,” said Coltart.

At the request of his lawyers, Chin’ono was upon his arrest allowed to wear goggles, overalls and a mask, but later officials allowed him to wear only a mask at his appearance in court.

Authorities have denied accusations of wrongful and unjust incarceration and victimisation of journalists, and suppressing dissent.

Addressing journalists at a press conference in Harare on Saturday, the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Monica Mutsvangwa said:

“We have noted with dismay a well-co-ordinated local and international misinformation and disinformation media campaign where Chin’ono and Ngarivhume are said to have been arrested for supposedly exposing alleged corruption cases in Government.

“Hopewell Chin’ono was not abducted, but was lawfully arrested by the Zimbabwe Republic Police, not for exposing corruption, but for using his social media accounts to incite Zimbabweans to violently overthrow the government.

World-acclaimed playwright and filmmaker Tsitsi Dangarembga was the first person to stage a one-person demo at Chin’ono’s house soon after his arrest. Dangarembga has not stopped protesting, with other ordinary citizens joining her in various demonstrations.

Constitutional lawyer and Secretary-General of the MDC-T, Douglas Mwonzora, told Daily Maverick he believed the arrest was motivated by the exposé of the Covid-19 scandal.