Judge exposes political hand in Chief Ndiweni case

Bulawayo High Court Judge, Justice Thompson Mabhikwa has exposed the political hand in the jailing of Ntabazinduna Chief Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni.


Mabhikwa, while granting Chief Ndiweni bail pending his appeal of an 18 month jail term imposed by a Bulawayo magistrate, said there were high chances that the traditional leader will successfully challenge both his sentence and conviction.  

 "It is a basic tenet of our law both in civil and criminal litigation that a litigant has a right of correctness of a judgment passed against him or her by a lower court to be tested by a higher court. I am not inclined to believe that the appeal is either devoid of merit or doomed to fail such that it be described to be frivolous. I therefore hold the view that there are prospects of success on appeal and accordingly the application for bail pending appeal succeeds,' ruled Justice Mabhikwa.

Chief Ndiweni was sentenced to 24 months in prison by a Bulawayo magistrate who suspended six months meaning that the traditional leader would serve an effective 18 months behind bars. 

He and 23 subjects from Ntabazinduna were convicted of destroying a villager's property. The subjects were sentenced to perform community service while Chief Ndiweni was given a custodial sentence, a move widely condemned as a way of fixing the chief who has been critical of President Emmerson Mnangagwa's government.