A key ally of former Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa in Mwenezi District, Tineyi Mapepa, has been sentenced to 38 months in prison for inciting violence during a campaign rally.
The conviction has sparked outrage and accusations of abandonment by legal representatives from the NGO Forum, raising concerns about the quality of legal representation for pro-Chamisa supporters in Masvingo province.
Mapepa, 46, was found guilty of inciting violence under Section 187(1) of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act. The charges stem from a 23 July 2023 incident at the Rutenga Business Center during the 2023 general elections.
Mapepa was found guilty after a full trial. Of the 38-month sentence, 18 months were conditionally suspended, resulting in an effective 20-month prison term.
The state alleged that Mapepa refused to disperse a crowd at the end of a sanctioned CCC rally and this led to a confrontation where police used excessive force and teargas. Mapepa denies these allegations.
He was represented by lawyer Noble Chinhanu of the Jiti Law Chambers and through him he pleaded not guilty to the charges. However, Chinhanu did not attend the final court session and this left Mapepa to face the consequences alone. Advocate Mureri was initially handling the case before he was surprisingly removed and the Welfare Bureau and NGO Forum then took over for one court session before withdrawing completely.
This is the second high-profile case in Masvingo province where lawyers from the NGO Forum have been accused of failing to adequately represent pro-Chamisa members. In a similar incident in Gutu, five CCC supporters were sentenced to prison after the NGO Forum lawyers did not show up for their trial. Honorable Martin Mureri who is an award-winning human rights lawyer and Masvingo Urban member of parliament later successfully secured bail for the Gutu five. Mureri is set to appear in the Masvingo High Court to challenge the guilty verdict against the Gutu five CCC members.
Pro-Chamisa citizens in Masvingo are demanding that their representatives be defended by lawyers from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), rather than the NGO Forum as they feel that the later has failed them in these high-stakes cases.
CCC’s head of legal affairs, Honorable Agency Gumbo, has commented on Mapepa’s sentencing. He said they are going to appeal soon.
“We are treating this matter as a priority and will be pushing and supporting the appeal of our colleague [Mapepa].”
