Mhike
questioned
the
rationale
behind
the
designation,
to
which
Magistrate
Isheanesu
Matova
responded
that
it
was
for
administrative
purposes
only.
Mhike
also
informed
the
court
that
Mhlanga
is
a
student
with
an
important
examination
scheduled
for
March
19.
He
requested
that
the
court
allow
Mhlanga
to
sit
for
the
exam
under
the
supervision
of
the
Zimbabwe
Prisons
and
Correctional
Service.
However,
Magistrate
Matova
stated
that
the
defence
was
seeking
something
beyond
his
authority. Said
Matova:
I
can
only
operate
within
the
four
corners
of
statutes.
That
is
beyond
our
reach.
Mhike,
however,
argued
that
the
court
had
the
authority
to
grant
the
application
allowing
Mhlanga
to
sit
for
his
examination.
The
matter
was
subsequently
remanded
to
April
4.
Award-winning
journalist
Hopewell
Chin’ono
suggested
that
Mhlanga’s
arrest
was
part
of
a
broader
strategy
by
State
institutions
to
silence
journalists
and
hinder
their
ability
to
perform
their
duties.
Said
Chin’ono:
A
Zimbabwean
journalist
and
political
prisoner,
Blessed
Mhlanga
will
spend
another
weekend
in
jail
for
a
crime
he
did
not
commit.His
only
crime
is
interviewing
Jealousy
Mawarire,
who
exposed
a
corrupt
scandal
to
steal
the
People’s
Own
Savings
Bank
(POSB)
linked
to
the
President
on
Mhlanga’s
television
programme.The
use
of
state
institutions
to
silence
journalists
from
doing
their
work
is
not
only
oppressive
but
kleptocratic.The
fact
that
Mhlanga
has
been
imprisoned
for
close
to
three
weeks
for
merely
conducting
an
interview
with
a
whistleblower
exposes
the
extent
to
which
state
institutions
have
been
weaponised
to
silence
dissent
and
investigative
journalism
by
ZANUPF
and
Mnangagwa.