THE National Democratic Working Group (NDWG) has offered US$20 000 to anyone with information on the whereabouts of the suspects who allegedly bombed its leader Job Sikhala’s Chitungwiza home last month.
NDWG lamented inaction on the part of the State to investigate or apprehend the suspects.
The group’s spokesperson Silenkosi Moyo yesterday said they were disappointed in the law enforcement authorities’ failure to deal with the case.
“In the early hours of August 30, Sikhala’s home was bombed by unknown thugs. He was in South Africa for a book launch of his biography Footprints in the Chains, the Life Story of Job Sikhala. His children were at home sleeping and his wife was away at a family function in their rural home,” Moyo said.
“The bombing happened at 3am. We have not received any feedback or communication, not even a free ‘Please Call Me Back’ message.
“This does not sit well with us and we demand immediate action on this matter, since we believe it is his right to receive services from the police.
“We are offering US$20 000 for whoever has information regarding this bombing.”
His book is an account of human rights abuses in Zimbabwe and of Sikhala’s political journey.
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According to reports, in the early hours of August 30, unidentified people bombed Sikhala's home. The politician is a vocal critic of the government.
Videos shared on social media and reviewed by researchers show damage to Sikhala’s house, including to windows, facade, roof and a car parked outside.
Sikhala (53), in a statement posted to X (formerly Twitter) early on September 1, said the bombing was “targeting to kill his children”.
He said while he had reported the attack, his “family has not received any feedback from the police. No statement, no feedback to the victims of this heinous crime.
In June 2022, the authorities detained Sikhala, then an opposition legislator and vice-chairperson of the Citizens Coalition for Change party, and held him without bail for 595 days on a charge of inciting public violence.
A petition signed by prominent Zimbabweans, foreign diplomats and civil society groups called for Sikhala’s release, stating that his prolonged detention eroded the value and essence of the criminal justice system, which was being “weaponised against dissent”.
After his release on a suspended sentence, he formed the NDWG, a civic pro-democracy movement.
At Sikhala’s book launch in Masvingo in July, suspected members of the Zanu PF youth wing violently disrupted the event, assaulting guests and seizing copies of the book.
Police allegedly refused to act against the assailants, despite victims and witnesses filing multiple complaints.
Senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, Idrsis Nassah, urged Zimbabwean authorities to take the necessary steps to protect Sikhala, his family and other critics of the government.
“They should thoroughly and impartially investigate this attack and other cases of politically-motivated violence and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice,” he said.
