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Zimbabwean author wins appeal against protest conviction
HARARE - Prominent Zimbabwean novelist Tsitsi Dangarembga on Monday won an appeal against an "inciting violence" conviction she received for staging a silent protest.
The award-winning author and filmmaker was given a 70,000 Zimbabwean dollar ($200) fine and a six-month suspended sentence in September over the small demonstration when she held up a sign calling for reform.
A High Court in Harare on Monday overturned the verdict, saying it was erroneously reached, with the judge adding the full reasoning behind the decision would be released at a later stage.
"I am very happy that the High Court shows respect for the law of Zimbabwe," Dangarembga told AFP after the ruling, describing her initial conviction as a "blatant miscarriage of justice."
Zimbabwe's constitution grants the right to demonstrate peacefully.
"No offence was committed in the first place. The judges said she did not commit any offence," Dangarembga's lawyer Harrison Nkomo told AFP.
The 64-year-old was arrested in July 2020 as she walked the empty streets of Harare during the coronavirus lockdown with a friend -- journalist Julie Barnes -- and a handful of other demonstrators.
Dangarembga held a placard reading, "We want better -- reform our institutions".
She also wore a sign on her back calling for the release of a prominent journalist who had previously been arrested on similar charges of inciting violence.
Authorities alleged the demonstration had not been authorised and was aimed at inciting violence, while the author contended she spoke to no one during the walk.
Barnes, who was jointly charged with Dangarembga, was also acquitted on appeal.
While welcoming the verdict, Dangarembga said she was "mindful" that her initial conviction came as part of a pattern.