“It’s scary because you know that once you are inside, that’s it. I don’t believe the Deputy Chairperson should be still behind bars. But just like our colleagues in the Glen View case, he is still to see freedom since being arrested,” one activist told The Zimbabwean.
Komichi has been in remand prison since July 28 when he was arrested on charges of fraud and contravening the Electoral Act. He was allegedly found in possession of tamper-proof ballot papers.
He is accused of misrepresenting to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission that he picked up a sealed tamper-proof envelope with a special vote ballot paper belonging to a policeman, Mugove Chiginya, from a bin at the Harare International Conference Centre.
According to the State, Komichi, who was Morgan Tsvangirai’s Chief Election Agent during the July 31 poll, opened, destroyed or interfered with the ballot papers. He said the ballot papers had been cast during the special vote conducted on July 14 and 15 for members of the security forces, government employees and Zimbabwe Electoral Commission staff who were to be on duty on July 31.
MDC-T Youth Assembly Secretary General, Promise Mkwananzi, said even though there was need for people to exercise caution that did not mean they were afraid.
“Caution should not be mistaken for fear. We call for the unconditional release of all people held for political reasons. Most of us are not afraid,” he said.
The four Glen View activists have been languishing in prison for the past two years. 24 of their colleagues were only released in December last year. Another member of the group Rebecca Mafikeni died in Harare last week,still behind bars.
Post published in: News