Online Reporter
Prosper Dembedza
Herald Correspondent
THE case against Blessed Mhlanga, a journalist with Alpha Media Holdings (AMH), has been postponed to April 30 due to the absence of crucial witness statements.
Mhlanga faces charges of transmitting messages intended to incite public violence.
During proceedings, prosecutor Mr Takudzwa Jambawu informed the judge that the investigating officer had failed to include witness statements in the case docket.
“The investigating officer is currently unavailable as he has been deployed to another duty outside this jurisdiction,” Jambawu explained in his application for postponement.
The charges stem from an incident on January 27, when Mhlanga allegedly recorded and uploaded a video to YouTube that incited public violence.
The court was presented with excerpts from the video, where Mhlanga’s interviewee stated, “It is clear that (President Emmerson) Mnangagwa has failed. He is not fit to run this country and his time to go is now. We ask him to go peacefully.”
“If he refuses to take heed of this advice, we have no option but to ask the people of Zimbabwe to deal with a rogue President . . . If you think this is a joke, it’s your fault, resign ‘peacefully.’”
Additionally, the prosecution alleged that Mhlanga broadcast another video on February 11, further attempting to incite public violence on the same platform.
