A Harare magistrate has acquitted a 60-year-old man who was facing charges of inciting public violence after allegedly mobilising colleagues to join an anti-government protest linked to calls by outspoken war veteran Blessed Geza.
Fidelis Garafa was arrested on November 28, 2025 and charged under the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.
The State alleged that Garafa encouraged co-workers—Charles Nyamukacha, Adrian Nyamande and Mathias Manhimbe—to follow Studio 7 broadcasts backing a planned March 31, 2025 demonstration aimed at removing President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Prosecutors told the court that Garafa said: “mangwana tirikuenda kunomacha, mukuru wenyika tirikuda kumubvisa,” translated as, “Tomorrow we will march; we want to remove the President.”
It was further alleged that he absented himself from work on the day of the protest and travelled to central Harare, where he was arrested alongside other demonstrators.
However, delivering his ruling at the Mbare Magistrates’ Court, magistrate Tinashe Ndokera dismissed the case, citing lack of evidence.
“There is no evidence that the accused incited anyone to participate in a gathering with intent to cause public violence,” Ndokera ruled.
He added that State witnesses only indicated that Garafa expressed his intention to join the protest, not that he persuaded others to do so.
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Garafa, represented by Kossam Ncube and Emmanuel Lawrence Chibwe of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, was discharged at the close of the State’s case.
The ruling adds to a growing number of cases in which courts have dismissed charges linked to the March 2025 protests, which authorities deemed unlawful, while critics say they reflect rising public discontent over the country’s political and economic situation.
