Zimbabwe court grants bail to detained journalist

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Zimbabwe court grants bail to detained journalist

8:08 CAT | 12 May 2025

Image: @zimlive/ X

A Zimbabwe High Court on Tuesday granted bail to a journalist arrested over two months ago after he interviewed a former ruling party stalwart who called for President Emmerson Mnangagwa to step down.

Blessed Mhlanga’s arrest on February 24 was sharply criticised by rights and media groups and added to fears of authoritarianism and rising repression in the southern African country.

“The accused is… hereby granted bail” of $500, Justice Gibson Mandaza, who in March rejected Mhlanga’s bail application, ruled.

He said the court had “misdirected itself” and circumstances had changed.

Previous courts said that Mhlanga’s interview with Blessed Geza, a veteran of Zimbabwe’s fight for independence, would “incite violence” and the journalist’s release would “put the nation in unrest”.

Geza, also known as “Bombshell”, was expelled from the ruling Zanu-PF party and has become the public face of opposition to attempts to keep Mnangagwa in power after the end of his term in 2028.

In videos shared on social media, dressed in military fatigues, he repeatedly called for demonstrations and a national shutdown against Mnangagwa and his “corrupt cabals”.

Few people heeded the call to protest on March 31, amid a high police presence, and nearly 100 demonstrators were arrested.

Mhlanga, a high-profile journalist with the online Heart and Soul Television channel (HStv), is due to go on trial on May 14.

HStv itself is also facing charges for broadcasting the interview.

Press freedom campaign group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said Mhlanga was “wrongfully accused” and his case was indicative of the “growing crackdown on criticism of the authorities in Zimbabwe”.

Zimbabwe is ranked 116th out of 180 countries in the RSF 2024 World Press Freedom Index.

The media “have been subjected to more persecution” since Mnangagwa was re-elected to a second term in 2023, according to the Paris-based organisation..

HE’S FREE: The moment HStv journalist Blessed Mhlanga was reunited with his family after 73 days in pre-trial detention accused of inciting violence. Mhlanga spent a day longer in jail after prison officials delayed his release over a missing crime reference number in court order pic.twitter.com/LOyKJRjLkE

— ZimLive (@zimlive) May 7, 2025