Ellen Sikhala Cries Over Her Husband's Arrest
Ellen Sikhala, the wife of Job Sikhala, a Member of Parliament for Zengeza West who is currently incarcerated, cried on Monday while describing the challenges her family has faced since her husband’s arrest in June of last year.
Job Sikhala, who is also the Vice-Chairperson of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), has been in pre-trial detention since his arrest. He is facing charges of inciting violence at a party activist’s funeral, obstructing the course of justice, and disorderly conduct. Despite numerous attempts, he has been denied bail.
Ellen Sikhala spoke at the launch of two publications on her husband, revealing that his lengthy pretrial detention has taken a toll on their family as he has been held for over 10 months.
The two publications were authored by Southern Africa Human Rights Defenders Network, Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, Civic Space Network, and Political Prisoners in Africa. Speaking at the event, Ellen said:
It has been a horrible experience since the 14th of June 2022. Honourable Sikhala, my husband is an innocent, peace-loving father who takes care of a very large extended family.
Since his arrest it has not been easy for me to take care of the family as the breadwinner has been taken away from us.
It is always confusing to spend the whole day roaming around the courts with nothing materialising, just like today (Monday), we had been at the court since morning, but nothing has changed.
We just hope that the Lord will keep him safe for us in the horrible cells he’s living in. It is a place he is not supposed to be, but our hands are tied. We just pray and hope that the Lord will take us through.
The experience is just bad for us, even for the kids. They are becoming impatient now. Sometimes it’s hard to explain things to them, but we want to thank the listening ear of our Lord that is keeping them strong also
Tears flowed down her cheeks as she talked about how the incarnation of her husband had affected their children.
She expressed gratitude that they are still able to provide food and meet the needs of their children with the help of her husband’s extended network.
Ellen criticised the judiciary system for delaying her husband’s case repeatedly. She hopes that her husband will be kept safe in his current situation and that God will help them through this difficult time.
She said the experience has been challenging for their children, who are becoming impatient and finding it hard to understand the situation.
