State forced to release MRP9 member after chaotic court proceedings expose wrongful warrant and procedural blunders
The Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP) condemns in the strongest possible terms the unlawful, chaotic and deeply disturbing re-arrest of Mr Welcome Moyo, one of the MRP9, by officers from Bulawayo Central Police on 24 June 2026 over allegations linked to a matter for which he was long ago arrested, convicted, imprisoned and fully served.
What unfolded in Bulawayo was not an act of justice, but a scandalous abuse of process marked by confusion, incompetence, procedural recklessness and the continued persecution of MRP members through defective and frivolous legal processes.
Mr Welcome Moyo is one of the MRP9 members who endured approximately three years of imprisonment in Khami, Chikurubi and Harare Central prisons after conviction in a matter arising from the State’s prosecution of MRP activists. He served that sentence under the custody of the Zimbabwean State. Yet, in a shocking turn of events, the same State sought to arrest and detain him again as though he had absconded from a sentence he in fact served in full.
The facts that emerged during the day he was arrested paint a deeply embarrassing picture of a justice system in disarray.
According to records available in the matter, while the MRP9 members were still serving their sentence, their legal team had lodged an appeal. That appeal, however, never proceeded through the courts and was never properly finalised, cancelled or regularised. It appears this unresolved procedural anomaly later created a false impression in court or State records that Welcome Moyo and his co-accused had somehow absconded or abandoned their sentence, when in truth they had already been in prison and had served it.
In effect, the State’s own records appear to have manufactured a fiction that men and women who were physically in its prisons for years had somehow run away from the very sentence they were serving. That is not merely a clerical error. It is a damning reflection of administrative chaos, gross negligence and a justice system prepared to endanger liberty on the basis of unverified, contradictory and incomplete records.
When Mr Moyo was brought before the court, the disorder became even more glaring. The prosecutor reportedly presented what was effectively a naked warrant of arrest without the proper supporting court record. The presiding Magistrate is understood to have requested that the Clerk of Court produce the relevant file, said to relate to a public violence matter, so that the basis of the arrest and the alleged outstanding issue could be verified. The matter was then stood down and adjourned as the court attempted to trace the file and establish what had actually happened.
What followed was a humiliating spectacle of institutional confusion and legal incoherence. It became increasingly apparent that the warrant of arrest had been erroneously issued, reportedly as a result of a serious procedural blunder. In the course of the proceedings, frantic efforts were allegedly made to contact Harare and verify the position, exposing the extent of the uncertainty surrounding the case.
In the end, the State was forced to concede its mishandling of the matter. The purported basis for Mr Moyo’s arrest collapsed under scrutiny, the warrant and fresh process were effectively withdrawn/cancelled, and Welcome Moyo was released yesterday in the afternoon from custody and spared further unlawful punishment and detention.
The Mthwakazi Republic Party welcomes Mr Moyo’s eventual release, but makes it clear that his freedom does not erase the grave injustice of his arrest, detention and humiliation in the first place. A citizen cannot be dragged from his home, detained, taken to court and threatened with imprisonment on the strength of a defective, confused and improperly issued warrant, only for the State to later admit that it had fumbled the matter.
This entire episode is a disgraceful abuse of State power.
It is especially disturbing that this ordeal was inflicted upon a man who has already endured years of incarceration at the hands of the same State. It confirms the MRP’s long-held position that its members remain subject to harassment, intimidation and persecution through the weaponisation of the criminal justice system, recycled allegations, defective warrants, unresolved court processes and administrative chaos.
The MRP therefore registers its profound displeasure and outrage at the continued unwarranted harassment of its members by State institutions. We reject in the strongest terms the use of sloppy, irregular and frivolous criminal processes to target political activists from Mthwakazi. Such conduct is not only unlawful; it is vindictive, cruel and corrosive to public confidence in the administration of justice.
The MRP demands the following:
* A full and public explanation from the Zimbabwe Republic Police, the National Prosecuting Authority and the courts regarding how such a defective and erroneous warrant came to be issued and acted upon;* The urgent correction of all court and State records that falsely suggest that Welcome Moyo or any of the MRP9 absconded, abandoned sentence or failed to account for themselves;
* Firm accountability for all officials whose negligence, recklessness or misconduct led to Mr Moyo’s wrongful arrest, detention and humiliation;
* An immediate end to the persecution, harassment and intimidation of MRP members through abuse of criminal procedure and defective court processes.
The Mthwakazi Republic Party also wishes to place on record its sincere appreciation to all MRP members, friends and family members who stood firmly with Welcome Moyo during this traumatic and difficult ordeal, from the moment of his arrest and detention at Bulawayo Central Police Station through to his court appearance and eventual release.
The Party extends special gratitude to Partone Xaba Secretary For Administration, Nkosinathi Ncube Head of Commissariat, Sithabile Ndlovu Head of Commissariat in Women’s League Liberation Front, Lwazi Khanye Young Revolutionary Treasurer and Central Committee Member, Silibaziso Mpofu, Tshuma, the Tsholotsho Co-ordinator, Jeffrey Tshuma, Zibusiso Mkhwananzi, JB Moyo, Mhlanga, comrades from Egodini, and members of the Security Department for their solidarity, vigilance, presence and unwavering support during this distressing episode. Their commitment, courage and unity in standing with one of our own during a moment of clear injustice is deeply appreciated and reflects the spirit of collective responsibility and brotherhood that continues to sustain the Mthwakazi struggle.
The MRP stands firmly with Welcome Moyo and with all members who continue to suffer harassment for their political beliefs and their commitment to the rights of the people of Mthwakazi. No democratic society can tolerate a justice system in which a man serves a prison sentence in full, only to be re-arrested years later because the State cannot properly manage its own records or procedures.
This matter may have ended in Mr Moyo’s release, but it has exposed something profoundly dangerous: a justice system capable of depriving a person of liberty first and asking questions later.
The people of Mthwakazi, and indeed all Zimbabweans, deserve better.
In Pursuit of Truth, Justice and Peace During Our Lifetime
Sisonke Sibambene SinguMthwakazi Sesikulungisa
By:
Mr Mqondisi Moyo
President of the Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP)
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