Job Sikhala, a Zimbabwean MP, was charged to court last week for allegedly threatening to overthrow President Emerson Mnangagwa. Sikhala spent 6 days in detention over a video circulating on social media where, according to Reuters, “The politician appears to be seen and heard telling supporters at a weekend rally: “We are going to take the fight to the doorsteps of Emmerson Mnangagwa. We are going to overthrow him before 2023. That is not a joke.”

He is charged with treason and could be jailed for 20 years if convicted but, Sikhala has since denied the charges and has been granted bail.

Critics of President Mnangagwa have reportedly been targeted in the past. Reuters reported that: “More than a dozen government opponents have this year faced similar charges, with critics saying this shows that under Mnangagwa, the government is reverting to harsh Robert Mugabe-era security laws to muzzle the opposition.”

Sikhala is the Deputy Chairman of the opposition party, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). The party is known to fiercely oppose the rule of President Mnangagwa. In an interview with DW, the party’s Vice President said of Mnangagwa, “Mnangagwa is a disaster. Mnangagwa is so bad he makes Mugabe look like an angel. And Mugabe was certainly not an angel by any standard.”