One of the social commentators in the country Onjezani Kenani has demanded for the immediate release of Joshua Chisa Mbele.

The police arrested Chisa Mbele on Tuesday for defamation after posting a list containing names suspected of being involved inn corruption.

Writing on his official facebook page Kenani described the action taken by the police on the matter as too extreme.

“Joshua Chisa Mbele made a mistake. He shared a document in a hurry, without verifying its authenticity or source. In this era of social media, in which information travels at the speed of light, a mistake like that becomes difficult to reverse, as people grab screenshots within seconds and spread on WhatsApp groups. Within 15 minutes of posting, Joshua realized his mistake and deleted the post accordingly. He went further to alert everyone that the document was fake. In any event, when sharing it, he never said it was genuine; rather he asked a question whether the document was authentic.

“ As I have already said, merely posting it, even if it meant asking whether the document was valid, was a lapse of judgement on his part. The good thing, however, was that he quickly realised his mistake, deleted it and alerted everyone that the document was fake. Now he has been arrested. I have been trying to reach him by phone but I have failed. Whether he broke a law or not is not for me to say. I do not know much about laws. But I view the action by law enforcement officials as heavy-handed and disproportionate, especially towards someone who already acknowledged his mistake and went to great lengths to reverse it. I hope he is being treated fairly and that he will be quickly taken to court for a bail hearing in accordance with his rights. I stand with Joshua at this moment. Sending my message of support to him,” wrote Kenani.

Chisa Mbele is yet to be taken to court.