Zimbabwe opposition leader, dozens of others denied bail

HARARE - A Zimbabwe court denied bail Wednesday for opposition leader Jameson Timba and more than 70 other people arrested last month on charges of holding an unlawful gathering.

Zimbabwe's opposition has faced a wave of arrests after disputed August 2023 elections in which the ruling ZANU-PF won a majority in parliament.

Critics have long accused ZANU-PF - in power since independence in 1980 - of stifling dissent.

Timba, his son and other members of the official opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), were arrested on 16 June at his home in Harare's Avondale suburb.

The opposition activists were charged with disorderly conduct and participating in an unlawful gathering.

Judge Munamato Mutevedzi told the Harare High Court that bail was denied because the applicants were likely to reoffend.

The judge did however grant bail to a 17-year-old who was among the group under arrest. Timba's son, 19, was granted bail last month.

Timba took over the interim leadership of CCC following the resignation of Nelson Chamisa in January.

Reacting to the decision to keep Timba and the other in jail, CCC spokesman Promise Mkwananzi said: "We denounce the capture and weaponisation of the judiciary in pursuit of ZANU PF political ends."

Human Rights Watch said this month that the government was intensifying its crackdown ahead of it hosting heads of state from the Southern African Development Community in August.