Ex-CCC MP Prince Dubeko Sibanda Arrested For Inciting Public Violence
Former Binga North legislator Prince Dubeko Sibanda, who was arrested in Beitbridge last week, faces charges of inciting public violence.
Sibanda is accused of posting messages on social media that urged CCC party members to engage in violent actions, including barricading roads, burning shops and tyres, and shutting down Harare.
According to the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), Sibanda was arrested at the Beitbridge Border Post on Saturday, August 17, and subsequently transferred to Harare Central Police Station.
Sibanda is among over 100 political activists targeted in a government crackdown on pro-democracy supporters ahead of the 44th Ordinary SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government.
Last Thursday night, armed men raided the home of former Budiriro MP Costa Machingauta in Harare, assaulting his young children before taking him away.
He was held incommunicado for several hours until lawyers found him at Harare Central Police Station. Machingauta is accused of public violence.
On Friday, August 16, police arrested 12 individuals in Gokwe for participating in an anti-government demonstration, where they were filmed holding placards denouncing Mnangagwa’s impending assumption of the rotational SADC chairmanship.
Meanwhile, Sibanda first entered Parliament in July 2013 as the MDC-T representative for Binga North and was re-elected in July 2018 on an MDC Alliance ticket.
He was recalled during the COVID-19 lockdown by MDC-T leader Douglas Mwonzora but later regained his seat as a member of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) during by-elections in March 2022.
He was re-elected again on a CCC ticket in the August 23, 2023 Harmonized Elections.
However, in October 2023, Sibanda was among 15 CCC legislators recalled from Parliament by Sengezo Tshabangu.
On February 2, 2024, Sibanda announced his resignation from the CCC. In a letter addressed to Zimbabweans and former CCC leader Nelson Chamisa, Sibanda claimed that the party had been deeply infiltrated by state agents and was now “beyond redemption.”
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