Harare – Jailed Alpha Media Holdings (AMH) journalist, Blessed Mhlanga, has declared that his incarceration has only strengthened his resolve to fight for freedom of expression in Zimbabwe. Mhlanga, who heads AMH’s television channel, Heart and Soul, is currently in remand prison awaiting trial on charges of transmitting information inciting violence.
His arrest on Monday followed his recent interviews with Blessed Runesu Geza, a war veteran known as “Cde Bombshell,” who is currently challenging President Mnangagwa’s leadership. Geza is currently in hiding, evading authorities.
In a handwritten statement penned from his prison cell, Mhlanga vowed to take the lead in fighting for freedom of expression in Zimbabwe. The full statement reads:
“Over the last few days, I have learnt my lesson. I have learnt that freedom is free. It comes at a cost and sometimes a painful one.
I have learnt that free speech, free talk is not free and, therefore, we must never stop at anything to achieve it. It must be achieved in our generation, not the next.
It is clear to me that without acting we won’t achieve anything so act we must. I will take the lead; therefore, I have instructed my lawyers to take action.
I have learnt that justice is a myth but just a tool used by those in power to entrench self. At law school Munyaradzi Gwisai told me that you can never understand law fully unless you understand its origins.
I fully agree, save to add that you will never fully understand it until it’s applied to you unjustly and with impunity by the social elites.
There is a mile of difference between writing about injustice and experiencing it. My friends and I now have the benefit of it both. L Madhuku says law is law coz its law. Just or unjust. My experience teaches me that an unjust law is no law.
Dear friends, prison is meant to break you. It is meant to change you. I have learnt quite to the contrary. Prison makes you more resolute. I am stronger and I identify more with you ever than before.
They say when you are arrested you are alone. That’s not true. I was never alone; your voices were with me. I stood proud in the dark hours, my wife, my family were with me. I thank you.
To those behind my persecution, including prosecution aiding and abetting injustice, I wish to say the sun will set. It won’t last forever. I am and I remain Dhara B.”
Meanwhile, the United States government, under the leadership of Donald Trump, has strongly condemned Mhlanga’s arrest through its embassy in Zimbabwe, urging authorities to respect the fundamental rights to press freedom.
In a statement released this Friday, the U.S. embassy asserted that “Constitutional rights to bail and free speech, should apply to all journalists.”
The charges against Mhlanga stem from interviews he allegedly conducted with Blessed Geza, the Zanu PF war veteran who has become a vocal critic of President Mnangagwa and his “2030 agenda.”
The ruling Zanu PF party is currently experiencing internal divisions, with one faction supporting Mnangagwa and advocating for the suspension of the 2028 elections to extend his rule until 2030, while another, reportedly aligned with Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, supports adhering to constitutional term limits. This internal conflict adds another layer of complexity to Mhlanga’s arrest and the broader political landscape in Zimbabwe.
