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OpenFree Blessed Mhlanga Now, Human Rights Watch Tells Mnangagwa Government
Human Rights Watch (HRW), an international non-governmental organisation dedicated to defending and promoting human rights worldwide, has called on Zimbabwean authorities to immediately release journalist Blessed Mhlanga and drop the charges against him.
Mhlanga, a senior journalist for the independent media outlet Heart and Soul TV, has been in detention since his arrest in Harare on February 24, 2025.
Mhlanga is charged with transmitting information that incites violence or causes damage to property under Section 164 of Zimbabwe’s Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.
Idriss Ali Nassah, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch, said on Wednesday, March 26, that the charges against Mhlanga are “baseless.” Said Nassah:
Zimbabwean authorities should immediately release the journalist Blessed Mhlanga and drop the charges against him for simply doing his job.
These baseless charges are yet another stark reminder that the rights to freedom of expression and the media are under serious threat in Zimbabwe.
The charges against Mhlanga relate to interviews he conducted in November 2024 and February 2025 with Blessed Geza, a war veteran and former ZANU PF member.
During one interview, Geza called for the resignation of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, accusing him of nepotism, corruption, and incompetence.
On February 28, a magistrate court denied Mhlanga bail, arguing that his release would cause national unrest and undermine peace and security.
The High Court upheld the decision on March 21, leaving him in prolonged pretrial detention at Harare’s maximum-security Chikurubi Prison.
Zimbabwe’s Constitution, along with two international treaties to which Zimbabwe is a party—the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)—protect the right to freedom of expression.
HRW said targeting journalists and political opponents for peacefully exercising these rights undermines Zimbabwe’s standing as a rights-respecting country. Said Nassah:
The arrest and prolonged detention of Blessed Mhlanga sends a message to all journalists that their work makes them a target for mistreatment.
The Mnangagwa government should respect basic rights and stop weaponizing the law and judicial system against journalists, human rights defenders, opposition politicians, and activists.
More: Human Rights Watch
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