Timba and 77 CCC activists acquitted

Zimbabwean veteran political activist and former minister Jameson Timba, along with 77 others, have been acquitted on charges of plotting public violence after spending nearly 80 days in detention. They were arrested on 16 June while commemorating Youth Day with a braai and drinks at Timba's residence on Downie Avenue, Avondale, Harare.

This arrest occurred amid a harsh political crackdown on civil society and opposition activists in the lead-up to the recent Southern African Development Community summit in Harare. Timba and the others filed for discharge at the close of the state's case last Monday, but the ruling on their application was repeatedly postponed, extending their time in detention after weeks of pretrial incarceration.

Zimbabwean authorities have increasingly weaponised pretrial detention as a punitive measure to silence dissent. Political organisers are frequently arrested on vague, often frivolous charges and subjected to prolonged pretrial detention that circumvents even domestic legal maximums, denying them due process rights and protections.

The escalation in the use of pretrial detention, and its severe impact on detainees and their families, has been widely documented by Zimbabwean and international human rights organisations. The consequences of pretrial detention are profound and far-reaching. Detainees risk losing their jobs, homes, livelihoods, or even lives; they may contract and spread disease, be extorted for bribes to secure release or better conditions, and suffer physical and psychological damage that can last long after their release.