As of: 09/29/2022 7:03 p.m
Author Dangarembga and journalist Barnes have been given a suspended sentence for taking part in a demonstration critical of the government in Zimbabwe. The two wanted to provoke violence, the judge said.
A court in Zimbabwe has sentenced the multi-award-winning author Tsitsi Dangarembga to six months’ imprisonment suspended for five years. In addition, the writer has to pay a fine of 70,000 Zimbabwean dollars (around 200 euros), as Dangarembga’s husband told the dpa news agency. The court also gave the same verdict to Damgarembga’s co-defendant, journalist Julie Barnes.
Barnes and Dangarembga wanted to provoke violence, judge Barbara Mateko ruled. The two were also accused of public incitement to violence, breach of the peace and bigotry.
Process lasted two years
Dangarembga and Barnes were arrested at a demonstration in a Harare suburb in 2020 demanding reforms. They explained in court that they had merely exercised their right to freedom of expression.
The trial of Dangarembga has dragged on for two years. It is about topics that Dangarembga, who is married to a German, has been dealing with in books and films for decades: discrimination, human rights, persecution and corruption.
Human rights activists criticize President
Human rights groups have described the indictment of Dangarembga as part of President Emmerson Mnangagwas’ attempt to silence Zimbabwe’s opposition ahead of next year’s presidential election. Dozens of opposition supporters, political activists, church officials, trade unionists and student representatives have been brought to justice.
The 63-year-old Dangarembga was honored with the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade last year. The jury called her one of the most important artists in her country and a widely audible voice of Africa in contemporary literature. Her most famous works include “The Price of Freedom”, “Denial” and “Survival”.