Zimbabwe Independent editor Faith Zaba says the past year has brought trauma, uncertainty and anxiety since her arrest in 2025 over a satirical Muckraker column headlined “When You Become a Mafia State” that criticised President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
On Monday, High Court judge Justice Emilia Muchawa quashed the criminal charges against Zaba and her employer, Alpha Media Holdings, overturning a magistrate’s earlier refusal to remove them from remand. Reasons for the ruling will be given later.
Reacting to the judgment, Zaba said the prosecution should never have been brought.
“This prosecution should never have happened. It has been almost a year since I was arrested and spent cold, painful nights at Chikurubi Female Prison, stripped of my freedom, dignity and the simple comforts that many of us take for granted,” she said.
“It has been a year of trauma, uncertainty and anxiety; a year of reporting to the police every Friday; and a year of court appearances, postponements and living under the shadow of a criminal prosecution.”
“While I welcome this judgement as a personal vindication, it is also an important victory for media freedom, freedom of expression and the rule of law.
“No journalist should have to endure arrest, imprisonment and prosecution simply for doing their job.”
Zaba thanked her lawyers, fellow journalists, human rights defenders and Zimbabweans for standing with her during the prosecution, adding: “Journalism is not a crime.”
More: ZimLive
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