Daniel Molokele, the Member of Parliament for Hwange Central, was on Saturday mid-morning briefly detained by police in Hwange and later released without charge following questioning over a Constituency Development Fund (CDF) committee meeting.
NewsDay Live witnessed police officers dressed in casual clothing escort Molokele from the meeting venue into a white twin-cab vehicle before driving him to Hwange Police Station.
Speaking shortly after his detention, Molokele said police had disrupted a CDF Project Implementation Committee meeting and ordered him to accompany them.
“Police in Hwange arrested me. They disrupted a CDF project implementation committee meeting. I tried to explain to them that this was not a public meeting, but they told me they were under strict orders to stop the CDF project meeting,” he said.
Molokele said there was no legal requirement for the committee to seek police clearance.
“There is no law that requires a CDF committee to apply for police clearance. Whenever we hold public meetings, we always apply for police clearance. This arrest is politically motivated,” he said.
After several hours, Molokele was released without any charges being preferred against him.
“I am now at home. I was taken in for questioning, where I clarified the purpose of the meeting. The police said they had received a tip-off suggesting that the meeting had a different agenda,” he said.
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Molokele said he was accompanied by his lawyer, Tiffany Sibanda, who attended at the request of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights.
“I am very disappointed by the police. It is clear that they are now being used by political powers,” he said.
Meanwhile, the incident sparked debate on X, with one user accusing authorities of abusing state power and interfering with constitutionally protected freedoms.
The user alleged that police were targeting opposition MPs and civic actors seeking to gather and discuss public matters, while allowing ruling party activities to proceed without interference.
The post further referenced constitutional provisions guaranteeing freedom of assembly, peaceful demonstration, political participation and equality before the law.
Molokele confirmed that no charges were filed against him following the incident.
