Zimbabwean author Tsitsi Dangarembga was given a six-month suspended prison sentence on Thursday after being found guilty of attempting to "
incite violence
" by silently demonstrating with a placard in the empty streets of an upmarket suburb of the capital Harare, two years ago.
The 63-year-old author, known beyond Africa for her novel
A fleur de peau
, was arrested in the midst of a pandemic at the end of July 2020 while walking with a journalist friend and a handful of other demonstrators, holding in the hands the sign: “
We want better.
Let us reform our institutions
”.
Silence any dissenting voice
The feminist figure, present in court on Thursday, had “
the intention of inciting violence
” and also demonstrated “
without having asked permission
”, estimated the court during a hearing attended by the AFP.
The author and director was given a six-month suspended prison sentence, together with a fine equivalent to around 200 euros.
The Zimbabwean journalist who accompanied him, Julie Barnes, received the same sentence.
Read alsoZimbabwe: writer Tsitsi Dangarembga arrested during an anti-corruption demonstration
Leaving the court, Tsitsi Dangarembga declared to the press that she was not surprised by this decision, and specified that she would appeal.
"
Freedom of expression and freedom of the press are increasingly reduced and criminalized
" in the country, she lamented, saying that Zimbabweans are now treated as "
subjects
" and no longer as "
citizens
" .
.
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who succeeded Robert Mugabe in 2017, is regularly accused by rights organizations of muzzling any dissenting voice, including through arbitrary arrests.
At a previous hearing in August, Tsitsi Dangarembga denied wanting to incite violence, saying he had not spoken to any passers-by or the press during the demonstration.
The defense also stressed that the demonstration did not provoke violence.
Tsitsi Dangarembga, on the other hand, said that he held up another sign on the same day demanding the release of a fellow journalist, Hopewell Chin'ono, then imprisoned on similar charges of incitement to violence.