Julius Malema, leader of South Africa’s opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, has criticized the Zimbabwean government for sentencing Transform Zimbabwe (TZ) President Jacob Ngarivhume to four years in jail.
Ngarivhume was last week found guilty of inciting public violence.
Writing on Twitter, Malema expressed shock over the sentence, urging Zimbabweans to protect activists like Ngarivhume.
“I was shocked to hear that a Zimbabwean Government has jailed Jacob Ngarivhume @NgarivhumeJacob, for demanding accountability through picket lines on how Covid-19 funds were used in 2020 by kleptocratic politicians. Sending an activist to 4 years imprisonment for simply holding different political views is pathetic. Zimbabweans must learn to protect their own, particularly those who are the voice of the voiceless against the corrupt few. The truth will never be incarcerated; Africa we are one.”
Meanwhile, Ngarivhume has since rallied Zimbabweans to continue with the fight in an open letter from Harare Central Prison, where he is being kept.
“Our struggle is just and our fight is for a good cause. There is no going back. A fight for our rights should never be taken lightly and should never be abandoned. History is on our side.” reads part of the letter.
