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OpenHigh Court Reserves Ruling On Blessed Mhlanga's Bail Appeal
Blessed Mhlanga, a senior Zimbabwean journalist accused of transmitting data messages to incite violence, has now spent over 20 days in detention, with a decision on his bid for freedom still pending at the High Court, the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) said in an update on 17 March 2025.
The 44-year-old Mhlanga, represented by ZLHR’s Chris Mhike, has been in both police and prison detention since his arrest on 24 February 2025.
He faces charges of unlawfully recording a video of Blessed Runesu Geza, allegedly sharing it with the public through YouTube and Heart and Soul Broadcasting Services (HSTV), with the intent to incite violence.
On 7 March 2025, Mhike filed an appeal at the High Court challenging Harare Magistrate Farai Gwitima’s decision to deny Mhlanga bail.
In the appeal, Mhike argued that Magistrate Gwitima made an error in his judgment on 28 February 2025 by denying bail, as there were no compelling reasons to justify Mhlanga’s continued detention.
On 10 March 2025, High Court Judge Justice Gibson Mandaza began hearing the bail appeal. During the proceedings, Fungai Nyahunzvi, a law officer from the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), made a surprising request to refer Mhlanga’s case to the High Court’s Anti-Corruption Court (ACC) instead of the regular Bail Court. Nyahunzvi also sought a postponement of the case pending this referral.
Nyahunzvi argued that Mhlanga’s case was linked to an ACC case at the Harare Magistrates Court, and therefore the bail appeal should be handled by the ACC Division of the High Court.
However, Mhike opposed the application, asserting that there was no corruption-related element in the charge Mhlanga was facing.
In his ruling, Justice Mandaza dismissed Nyahunzvi’s request, confirming that the ordinary Bail Court was competent to hear Mhlanga’s bail appeal.
The judge then postponed the hearing of the bail appeal to 12 March 2025 to allow the NPA to respond to Mhlanga’s request for additional information, including the electronic and video evidence the prosecution claims incriminate him.
On 12 March 2025, Justice Mandaza again postponed the hearing, deciding to make a determination on Mhlanga’s request for more information before proceeding with the bail appeal.
On 17 March 2025, Justice Mandaza resumed hearing the appeal, initially ruling that the High Court would not view the video at the centre of the case, as it was not part of the record from the Harare Magistrates Court. He said that the court would only consider the proceedings from the lower court.
Mhike then presented arguments in favour of Mhlanga’s bail, asking the High Court to release the journalist.
Nyahunzvi opposed the appeal, insisting that Mhlanga should remain in prison and face trial from behind bars.
Justice Mandaza reserved his judgment on the matter, saying he would inform all concerned parties when his decision would be ready.
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