Zengeza West legislator, Job Sikhala, who is in Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison and suffering from an undisclosed illness, failed to appear in court today in Harare.
Sikhala, a qualified lawyer and member of the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), has been detained in remand prison for more than seven months following his arrest for allegedly inciting public violence in Nyatsime.
One of his attorneys, Harrison Nkomo, said SIkhala could not manage to get into a prison truck for his trial at the Magistrates’ Court.
“We are informed that he is sick. We are worried about his state of health. He is a family man. He represents a constituency. And so, he's not an ordinary person,” said Nkomo.
Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services spokesperson, Meya Khanyezi, was unavailable for comment.
Sikhala is an attorney of slain Citizens Coalition for Change activist, Moreblessing Ali, whose killer said to be linked to the ruling party, has confessed taking her life.
Her body was dumped in a disused well in Nyatsime. Her remains are at Chitungwiza Hospital Mortuary. Ali's family says she will be buried when Sikhala is released from remand prison.