Detained Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) deputy chairperson, Job Sikhala, has said he is okay with the ruling ZANU PF keeping him in prison.
Sikhala has been in jail since his arrest in June for allegedly inciting public violence which erupted on 14 June during the funeral wake of slain CCC activist Moreblessing Ali.
He told NewZimbabwe that ZANU PF was deliberately keeping him jailed out of fear his political influence and capacity to mobilise might ensure victory for the opposition party in the 2023 elections.
The Zengeza West Member of Parliament (MP) said during an interview:
ZANU PF is afraid of releasing me. They know doing that before next year’s elections will definitely cement their loss at the polls. They know my capacity.
There should not be any doubt or fear for me here, I am comfortable with them keeping me here. It gives me more time to teach comrades being kept here about the Zimbabwean situation.
I have prepared myself for a long stay and am ready to stay until the cows come home. This is just an attempt to delay the inevitable, a Zanu PF loss.
The opposition, some civic society organisations (CSOs) and the British parliament use Sikhala’s case to push the narrative that the ruling ZANU PF uses the judiciary to punish dissent.
ZANU PF denies the allegations.