Ngarivhume's appeal postponed again as prosecutor falls sick

Once again, on Thursday, the High Court had to defer the case in which opposition activist Jacob Ngarivhume is appealing his conviction and sentencing for inciting public violence.

Ngarivhume was convicted and sentenced to four years in prison, with three years effective, for inciting public violence after calling for nationwide protests on July 31, 2020.

The prosecutor requested a postponement to Monday, citing the unwellness of the colleague handling the matter. The court granted the postponement with consent but expressed concern over continuous delays, instructing that the matter be assigned to another prosecutor. The prosecutor assured the court that heads of argument would be filed by the end of business Friday.

The court ordered the matter to resume on Monday, emphasizing that there would be no further postponements and directing the State to file heads of argument by December 8. Following the proceedings, Ngarivhume's lawyer, Professor Lovemore Madhuku, expressed expectations of receiving the judgment on Monday.

Madhuku highlighted the simplicity of the matter, focusing on whether Ngarivhume owned the Twitter account in question, and emphasized the lack of evidence from Twitter or any other source supporting the ownership claim made by the magistrate during the initial trial.