A Zanu PF councillor in Zaka district, Masvingo, has been acquitted on charges related to anti-President Emmerson Mnangagwa comments he made via a WhatsApp platform.
Councillor Zivanai Zvida (44), who had been on trial after his arrest on allegations of inciting residents to stage protests against Mnangagwa, denied the charges when he appeared before Magistrate Grace Tupiri at Zaka magistrates’ court.
He was represented by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) member Frank Chirairo.
Zvida, who is the councillor for Ward 24 in Zaka, was arrested on April 1, 2025 by police officers, who charged him with incitement to commit public violence as defined in Section 187(1) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, read with Section 36(1)(a) of the same Act.
Human rights lawyers reported that during the trial, which commenced on January 29, 2026 at the Zaka magistrates’ court, prosecutors alleged that Zvida on March 31, 2025 sent a message on a WhatsApp group for Ward 24 residents titled “Ward 24 Development Agents,” containing the words: “M31 Movement Munhu wese mu road Emmerson Mnangagwa has to go.”
The prosecutors charged that, Zvida’s actions and message were meant to persuade or induce the general public to disturb the peace, security, or order of the public, and to incite violence by persuading residents who were part of the WhatsApp group to demonstrate against Mnangagwa.
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Zvida was reportedly an administrator of the Ward 24 Development Agents WhatsApp group, along with the informant, David Batsirai Majaura, who reported him to the ZRP, and Cuthbert Chiguvi.
While under arrest, police officers confiscated Zvida’s Samsung Galaxy mobile phone handset and sent it for examination at the law enforcement agency’s forensic science department cyber laboratory.
Zvida spent 16 days in police and prison detention after being denied bail on the grounds that he was a threat to public order and security.
He was only freed on April 17, 2025 after being granted bail by the Masvingo High Court.
On February 4, 2026, Zvida was acquitted of charges of incitement to commit public violence after Tupiri upheld his application for discharge at the close of the prosecution case.
This followed an application for discharge filed by his lawyer, Chirairo.
Zvida argued that the evidence adduced during trial by three state witnesses — namely Chiguvi, Archbald Muyambi (the investigating officer), and Nyasha Mandebvu (a digital forensic analyst at ZRP’s cyber laboratory)—was so manifestly unreliable that no reasonable court could safely act on it.
Zvida contended that the offensive words “M31 Movement Munhu wese mu road Emmerson Mnangagwa has to go,” allegedly sent by him on a WhatsApp group, were not proven to have been sent by him on the Ward 24 Development Agents WhatsApp group.
In his ruling, Tupiri held that two of the state witnesses had only made bold assertions and had not submitted evidence upon which a reasonable court could rely to convict Zvida.