Former CCC legislator arrested, charged for ‘inciting violence’

By Staff Reporter 

FORMER Budiriro Member of Parliament (MP) Costa Machingauta, who was arrested Thursday movie-style at his Harare home, has been arraigned before the court facing charges of inciting violence and disorderly conduct.

The former Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) deputy youth chairman, who later joined Citizens’ Coalition for Change (CCC), appeared in court Saturday and was remanded to Monday, August 19, for bail hearing.

According to the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) Machingauta is charged with offences relating to incitement to commit public violence as read with section 187 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act as read with section 36 of the same statute.

The ex-legislator will also answer to a charge of disorderly conduct as outlined in section 41(b) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.

Scant allegations are that Machingauta shared chats among CCC WhatsApp groups inciting members of those groups to commit acts of civil unrest.

The firebrand opposition politician was Thursday allegedly whisked away by an unidentified gang which stormed his residence and violently abducted him and assaulted his children in the process.

Following a blackout on his whereabouts, lawyers finally managed to locate him inside holding cells at a local police station where he was held incommunicado since his arrest.