Zimbabwe’s High Court has cleared prominent journalist Hopewell Chin’ono, who was facing charges of incitement over tweets deemed critical of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government.
High Court Judge Siyabona Musithu on Monday quashed the incitement charges against Chin’ono, who was arrested in July last year ahead of street protests against government corruption that were brutally crushed by the military.
Justice Musithu said the police were “on a fishing expedition” when they arrested Chin’ono and that the charges against him were unclear.
“It means my arrest and my case were trumped up as I have always argued,” Chin’ono tweeted after his acquittal.
“I spent the past 15 months in jails and courts for something that I didn’t do. It was cruel and tragic. This is the second case thrown out by the High Court from my three arrests.”
Mr Chin’ono, a fierce government critic, has been arrested at least three times in the last three years for sharing information that is deemed critical of the government.
