Free Madzibaba VeShanduko: A man who committed no crime must not die in prison

By Velisiwe Ndlovu | Feb 11, 2026 | 10 Min read

Velisiwe Ndlovu

There is a man in Chikurubi Prison who should not be there. His name is Godfrey Karembera. You probably know him as Madzibaba VeShanduko the Father of Change. He wears a yellow gown that looks like church robes, but he is not a priest. He is a farmer from Guruve. He is a husband. He is a father of three children. And right now, as you read these words, he is locked in a cell while his family waits and wonders if he will ever come home.

The date is February 11, 2026. Godfrey Karembera has been in custody since October last year. His bail hearing has been postponed again. His lawyer says he cannot walk properly because of the torture he suffered before he was even charged. He cannot get proper medical care because prison authorities will not take him to a private hospital. His family cannot afford the bail amount the State wants. And all of this is happening for one simple, shameful reason: he printed flyers.

That is not a crime. It has never been a crime. It will never be a crime in any country that calls itself a democracy. Yet here we are, begging the courts to release a man who should never have been arrested in the first place.

Who Is Madzibaba VeShanduko?

Let me tell you who Godfrey Karembera really is, because the police and the prosecutors will not tell you this side of the story.

He is a 47-year-old man who lives in Mutata Village, Guruve South. He is a supporter of Nelson Chamisa and the Citizens Coalition for Change, which is his right under Section 67 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe. He started wearing a yellow gown several years ago, and people in his village began calling him Madzibaba VeShanduko. It was a nickname of respect, not ridicule. They saw him as a man who stood up for what he believed in, even when it was not popular or safe to do so.

In 2022, Karembera was arrested for wearing that yellow gown in Harare. The police said he was being “disorderly.” They beat him on the back and the soles of his feet. They charged him with insulting police officers. That case did not end with him being a convicted criminal. It ended with him being a victim of police brutality, but no one was held accountable.

In April 2025, while Karembera was away from home, his house was attacked with petrol bombs. His 17-year-old son Laxmore was sleeping inside with his younger siblings. When the first bomb exploded, Laxmore ran out to see what was happening. Then another bomb came. The boy grabbed his brother and sister and ran into the dark fields to save their lives. He was cut by broken glass and burned by flames. The family home was damaged. Property was destroyed. No one has ever been arrested for this attack.

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This is the man the State is now holding in prison. A man whose child was wounded by unknown assailants. A man who has never carried a weapon or called for violence. A man whose only tools are a printer, a yellow gown, and the courage to speak when others are silent.

What Did He Actually Do?

The State says Godfrey Karembera committed a crime called “incitement to commit public violence.” Let us look closely at what this means in his case.

In October 2025, a war veteran named Blessed Geza announced plans for a protest called the One Million Man March. The protest was scheduled for October 17 at Africa Unity Square and Robert Mugabe Square in Harare. Geza had posted videos on YouTube accusing President Emmerson Mnangagwa of corruption and poor governance.

Karembera and some other activists printed flyers. These flyers contained messages like “Stop the looting,” “Zimbabwe is not for sale,” “7 billion reasons to march,” and “One million men march.” According to the police, they distributed these flyers in the suburbs of Machipisa, Glen View, Highfield, and Budiriro. Police received a tip-off, tracked a silver Toyota Aqua, and allegedly recovered 7,200 flyers from the vehicle. Karembera and two others reportedly fled the scene, though one accomplice was caught immediately.

The State also alleges that on the day of the planned protest, Karembera recorded a video urging citizens to gather at Africa Unity Square and shared it on WhatsApp groups and Facebook.

That is it. That is the entire case against Madzibaba VeShanduko.

Read those facts again. Where is the violence? Where is the weapon? Where is the call to burn shops, block roads, or harm people? There is none. There are only words on paper and words in a video. Words asking people to gather. Words questioning how seven billion dollars went missing. Words printed on flyers that cost a few cents to produce.

Since when is asking questions a crime? Since when is distributing information a crime? Since when is wearing yellow and telling people to march peacefully a crime worthy of months in prison and denial of medical care?

The Abduction and Torture

Here is what the State will not tell you in court.

Before Godfrey Karembera was formally arrested and charged, he was abducted. Men in unmarked vehicles seized him from his home or from the street—reports differ on the exact location. They took him to an unknown place. They held him overnight. They beat him severely. His lawyer, Paida Saurombe, told the magistrate that her client was tortured for several hours and his body bore clear marks of severe abuse. He could not walk without assistance when he finally appeared in court.

After the abduction and torture, he was dumped at Harare Central Police Station. Only then was he formally charged with incitement. This is a pattern that Zimbabweans know all too well. It is called “ghost detention.” It is illegal. It is unconstitutional. And it happens all the time to government critics.

Karembera’s lawyer told the court that he was in visible pain and that his health was deteriorating. At some point, reports emerged that he could not urinate naturally—a common injury from beatings to the kidneys and lower back. Prison authorities refused to allow him to seek private medical care. They kept him in custody, sick and suffering, while his case dragged on.

On February 10, 2026, a magistrate named Ruth Moyo recused herself from Karembera’s bail application after the defence argued they had lost confidence in the court’s impartiality. The case was reassigned to Magistrate Tapiwa Kuhudzai, the same judicial officer who had previously denied his challenge to remand. A new bail hearing is scheduled for February 13.

As of today, February 11, 2026, Godfrey Karembera is still in prison.

The Patriotic Act: A Weapon, not a Law

The State is reportedly considering charging Karembera under the Patriotic Act of 2023. This law makes it a crime to “injure the sovereignty and national interest” of Zimbabwe. Human rights defenders have warned that the wording of this law is deliberately vague. It can mean anything the government wants it to mean. Criticising the President? That injures sovereignty. Distributing flyers about corruption? That injures national interest. Asking where the money went? That is now a crime.

The Patriotic Act is not designed to protect Zimbabwe. It is designed to protect those who rule Zimbabwe from accountability. It is a shield for the powerful and a sword against the powerless. And now it is being sharpened to cut down a farmer in a yellow gown.

A Prisoner of Politics, Not Justice

Let us be honest about what is really happening here. Godfrey Karembera is not in prison because he broke the law. He is in prison because he is a visible, recognisable supporter of the opposition. He is in prison because he wears yellow and refuses to stop. He is in prison because his existence a man who stands up and says “this government is corrupt and we deserve better” is itself seen as a threat.

The timing of his arrest is also revealing. In late 2025, tensions were rising within Zanu-PF over the so-called “2030 Agenda” a campaign to change the Constitution and allow President Mnangagwa to stay in power beyond 2028. Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga’s supporters were being targeted. War veterans associated with Blessed Geza were being arrested and denied bail. The government was cracking down on anyone perceived to be connected to the October 17 protests.

Karembera was swept up in this crackdown. He was not a major organiser. He was not a leader of the protest. He was a foot soldier one man with a stack of flyers and a Facebook account. But the government needed to send a message. And so Madzibaba VeShanduko became an example.

Why We Must Demand His Release

I am writing this article not as a lawyer or a politician or a human rights expert. I am writing it as a human being who believes that no person should be locked in a cell for printing words on paper.

Godfrey Karembera must be released immediately. Not next week. Not after another bail hearing. Not after the courts have finished playing games with his life. Now.

Here is why:

First, he has committed no crime. The Constitution guarantees freedom of assembly and freedom of expression. Distributing flyers about a peaceful protest is not incitement to violence. Recording a video inviting people to gather at a public square is not incitement to violence. The State has produced no evidence that Karembera ever called for anyone to commit a violent act. The flyers and the video are not weapons. They are speech. And speech is not a crime.

Second, his continued detention is cruel. He has been tortured. He is denied medical care. His body is breaking down while he waits for a court system that moves at the speed of politics, not justice. If the State truly believed he was dangerous, why did they not charge him immediately? Why did they abduct him, beat him, and only then produce a docket? The answer is obvious: this is punishment, not due process.

Third, his family has suffered enough. His son Laxmore still carries scars from the petrol bomb attack. His other children have grown up watching their father be hunted, arrested, and now imprisoned. His wife waits at home in Guruve, wondering if her husband will ever walk through the door again. How much must one family endure because a man dared to wear yellow?

Fourth, Zimbabwe deserves better. We fought for independence so that we could govern ourselves under a constitution that protects our rights. We adopted the 2013 Constitution in a referendum because we wanted to leave behind the era of detention without trial, of torture in unmarked rooms, of political prisoners held on fabricated charges. That Constitution is not a decoration. It is a promise. Every day that Godfrey Karembera remains in prison, that promise is broken.

What You Can Do

You may read this article and feel helpless. You may think, “I am just one person. What can I do against the machinery of the State?” But history shows us that no government can hold a political prisoner forever if enough people refuse to look away.

Speak his name. Godfrey Karembera. Madzibaba VeShanduko. Say it out loud. Share his story on WhatsApp. Post it on Facebook. Tell your friends, your neighbours, your church congregation. The government relies on silence. Break it.

Call on your elected representatives. Ask your Member of Parliament why a man who printed flyers is in prison while the people who petrol-bombed his home walk free. Demand answers. Do not accept vague responses about “due process” and “the rule of law.” Due process does not include abduction and torture. The rule of law does not permit indefinite detention of the innocent.

Support his family. Karembera has no steady income. His farm work has stopped because he is in prison. His children need school fees and food. If you are able, find out how to contribute to his legal defence or his family’s upkeep.

Do not let them bury this story. The State hopes that if they delay long enough, if they postpone enough hearings, if they keep Karembera out of sight, the public will forget about him. Do not let that happen. Remember his face. Remember his yellow gown. Remember that he is in prison for doing what you do every time you discuss politics with a friend or share news on social media.

An Appeal to the Courts

Magistrate Kuhudzai, you will hear this bail application on February 13. The eyes of Zimbabwe are upon you. The world is watching. You have the power to release an innocent man or to keep him locked away.

The State has not proven that Godfrey Karembera is a flight risk. He has a home in Guruve. He has a family. He has never missed a court date in the past. He is not wealthy; he does not have the means to flee the country. The only reason to deny him bail is punishment punishment for his political beliefs, punishment for his yellow gown, punishment for his refusal to be silent.

That is not justice. That is vengeance dressed in legal robes.

Please do what is right. Grant him bail. Let him go home to his children. Let him receive proper medical care. Let him prepare his defence from outside the walls of a prison cell. Let him be presumed innocent, as the Constitution requires, until and unless the State proves otherwise with real evidence not flyers, not a video, not the colour of his clothes.

A Final Word

Godfrey Karembera is not a hero because he is perfect or powerful. He is a hero because he is ordinary. He is a farmer, a father, a man of faith who wears robes like a priest. He has no political office, no wealth, no army. He has only his voice and his courage and his stubborn belief that Zimbabwe can be better.

That should not be a crime. That should be celebrated. That should be protected.

Instead, he sits in a cell. His children wait. His lawyer fights. His supporters pray.

How long must Madzibaba VeShanduko wait for justice? How many bail hearings will he endure? How much more can his body take?

The answer to these questions depends on us. If we remain silent, he will remain imprisoned. If we speak, if we demand, if we refuse to accept the unacceptable—he may yet walk free.

Godfrey Karembera committed no crime. He printed flyers. He wore yellow. He asked questions that powerful people did not want to answer.

For that, he is in prison. For that, he must be released.