The newly elected Councillor for ward 1 in Bulawayo, Eddie Manning and a colleague, Paddy Schalvyn were arrested on Tuesday for distributing a mild leaflet from the MDC about the stay away. The leaflet asked people to stay at home in protest at the failure by the State to release the results of the recent Presidential election, now three weeks over due.

Today, after three days in jail the two men were brought to court and found guilty and sentenced to 8 (eight) months in jail or a fine of Z$30000000000.00 (about R3000). This is outrageous and as the sentence was delivered this afternoon and we have a public holiday and a weekend coming it means they have to spend another 3 days in jail while we try to find the fine.

While they are in jail we have to feed them as the prison is unable to provide the food they need.

Where else in the world would this be called a crime! Where else would it attract such a sentence, this is a gross abuse of judicial authority.

(Source: via email)

Comment: First of all, sentencing these men to such a huge fine – or almost a year in prison beggars belief! Eight months for passing out some mildly worded leaflets? This is ‘justice’? But this sort of thing happens all the time in Zimbabwe. The same country that prosecutes a woman for calling Mugabe “Hitler” – when he calls himself “Hitler – tenfold”! Is agreeing with the soon-to-be-ex President a crime in Zimbabwe? Or was her crime for not acceding to his opinion that he is ten times worse than Hitler?

Take care.

‘debvhu