Imprisonment Won’t Silence Me - Ngarivhume
Transform Zimbabwe leader Jacob Ngarivhume, who was recently released from prison after being acquitted of incitement to commit violence, has vowed to continue speaking against corruption.
Ngarivhume was arrested ahead of the planned 31 July 2020 protests for allegedly calling on people to protest the alleged corruption around the procurement of COVID-19 protective clothing.
Speaking in an interview with The NewsHawks, Ngarivhume said that there is no reason for Zimbabweans to experience economic hardships given that the country is endowed with abundant mineral resources. He said:
You will see even more of that, I do it because I believe this is the right thing. We fight for our country because that is our heritage.
Zimbabwe is our heritage and we have no other heritage except Zimbabwe. If we do not speak out, it will be wrong.
Look at Zimbabwe, such an endowed country with mineral resources. We have all the minerals that you can think of.
One of the books that I read when I was in prison details the mineral resources found in this country, they run into hundreds.
There is no reason absolutely why Zimbabwe would be this poor. What has happened to all these mineral resources?
Ngarivhume said that during his time in prison, he met the president of the Zimbabwe Miners’ Federation, Henrietta Rushwaya, who is reportedly a niece of President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Rushwaya had been convicted of trying to smuggle six kilogrammes of gold via the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.
Ngarivhume questioned how Rushwaya was later given a wholly suspended five-year custodial sentence and fined US$5 000 for the crime. He said:
When I was inside I had an opportunity to speak to Henrietta Rushwaya convicted of trying to smuggle 6kg of gold.
Of course, she was given a wholly suspended sentence. She came out ahead of me and Job and, amazingly, you would understand how much gold is moving and changing hands in this country.
So there is no reason why we should be in this position as a country and that we speak out against it. It’s the corruption, bad leadership, bad governance.
When people loot a country from 1980 without even feeling and deciding that you need to allow the country to grow and prosper, it is startling.
That is unacceptable and someone needs to speak out and we will do that.
This is not personal, our fight is not personal against ED (President Emmerson Mnangagwa) or against ZANU PF as an organisation.
It is based on principle, to say we have to do the right thing for our country. If we do not do the right thing, then someone needs to speak up. That is what we are doing.
Ngarivhume was convicted of public violence incitement charges by Harare magistrate Feresi Chakanyuka on 27 April 2023, after a full trial that lasted almost three years.
The following day, Chakanyuka sentenced Ngarivhume to 48 months imprisonment, with 12 months conditionally set aside.
On 11 December 2023, Ngarivhume was acquitted on appeal by High Court judges Pisirayi Kwenda and Fatima Maxwell after spending eight months in prison.
The judges said no evidence was produced to prove he owned the X (Twitter) account that had allegedly incited violence resulting in his arrest and conviction by Magistrate Chakanyuka in May.
More: Pindula News
