Former Zengeza West Member of Parliament, Job Sikhala, on Monday morning, said that police officers from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Law and Order division visited his home in Chitungwiza on Sunday night.
Sikhala, who is currently out of the country seeking medical treatment, stated he had instructed his lawyer Harrison Nkomo to inquire with the CID Law and Order unit and determine the purpose of their visit.
The opposition politician expressed his willingness to cut short his medical treatment and return to Zimbabwe to address and resolve this matter. Sikhala posted on X:
I woke up to loads of messages in my inbox from my neighbours and friends that officers from CID Law and Order visited my house in Chitungwiza last night looking for me.
Today, I have advised my lawyer Harrison Nkomo to go and inquire from CID Law and Order if they are truly looking for me so that, I can cut short my medical treatment to go back to Zimbabwe and clear my name over my address at the Geneva Summit for Human and Democracy which I gather, is the issue they want to press charges against me.
While speaking at the Geneva Summit on Human Rights and Democracy in May as one of this year’s invited speakers, Sikhala expressed concern that discussing Zimbabwe’s human rights situation could potentially result in his imprisonment under the “Patriotic Act”.
He also asserted that his arrest in 2022 was politically motivated, intended to remove him from the political landscape as President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s ZANU PF party allegedly prepared to manipulate the August 2023 harmonized elections.
Sikhala spent 595 days in pre-trial detention following his arrest on charges of inciting public violence. He posted on X:
What also surprises me is that my absence from Zimbabwe for medicals is known by everyone and wonder why the state agents would go to look for me at my house when they know that I am not in Zimbabwe at the present moment.
This would not surprise me because of the hysteria ZANU PF functionaries hyped against me after the said address in Geneva.
I honestly do not understand their agenda to arrest me, but be reassured that I will be back as soon as my lawyer confirms that they are truly looking for me to clear my name.
In March, Sikhala’s political organization, the National Democratic Working Group (NDWG), announced that he was seeking medical treatment and undergoing evaluations at a hospital outside of Zimbabwe.
During his prolonged detention at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison, Sikhala experienced persistent gastrointestinal issues, including episodes of bloody stool, which were suspected to be the result of potential poisoning.
