Fadzayi Mahere, the national spokesperson of the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), faces 20 years in prison after she was found guilty of communicating falsehoods.
The court this Wednesday found Fadzayi Mahere guilty of lying when she allegedly tweeted that a baby had been killed by a police officer in 2020.
She allegedly tweeted that a baton-wielding police officer enforcing COVID-19 lockdown regulations had fatally struck the baby of a woman identified as Rebecca Musariri in Harare central business district (CBD).
The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) refuted the claim and said the child was not killed.
A video of the incident went viral in 2020, with the mother clinging to a police officer claiming he had killed her baby.
The offence of communicating falsehoods carries a sentence of up to 20 years in jail.
Mahere was found guilty by Harare Regional Magistrate Taurai Manuwere after a full trial.
The hearing went into mitigation before the magistrate handed down a sentence.