BLESSED MHLANGA CLOCKS 50 DAYS IN JAIL

It has now been 50 days since journalist Blessed Mhlanga was put in jail in Zimbabwe. He is being held for doing his job. He is not a criminal. He is a journalist. He was just reporting the news. But the government does not like that. They want to stop people from telling the truth. So, they arrested him.

Blessed Mhlanga is in Harare Remand Prison. This prison is a very bad place. It is overcrowded. Too many people are kept there. The cells are small and dirty. There is not enough space to sleep. The walls are damp and stink. The toilets do not work well. There are many flies and rats. It is hot, dark, and hard to breathe inside. People get sick. There is not enough food. There is no clean water. It is not a place for any human being.

Even though he has not been found guilty of any crime, Mhlanga has not been given bail. The courts keep saying no. They keep him locked up. This is not fair. In most countries, people are not punished before their trial. But in Zimbabwe, the government uses jail to punish people before they go to court. This is called pretrial punishment. They are using the law as a weapon. They are doing this to scare other journalists. They want to stop people from writing the truth. They want everyone to be quiet. They are criminalising journalism.

This is not just about one man. Blessed Mhlanga’s case shows us something bigger. It shows that there is no press freedom in Zimbabwe. The government wants to control what people say and write. Journalists are not free. If they write about the government’s failures, they are attacked or arrested. This is wrong. A free press is important in every country. Journalists must be allowed to work freely. They must be allowed to ask hard questions. They must be allowed to tell the truth.

Zimbabwe has a bad record on human rights. People are arrested for speaking out. Opposition leaders are jailed. Protesters are beaten. Activists are followed and threatened. The government does not want anyone to talk about the problems in the country. They want to hide the truth.

The country is also not doing well. The economy is very bad. There is no money. People cannot find jobs. Prices are going up. Many people are hungry. Hospitals do not have medicine. Schools are broken. Life is hard for many Zimbabweans. But the leaders live well. They do not care about the people. They only care about power.

This is the Zimbabwe that Blessed Mhlanga was reporting about. He was telling the world what is happening. He was showing the truth. And that is why he is in jail. The government wants to shut him up. They want others to be scared. But we must speak up for him. We must not be silent.

Blessed Mhlanga must be released. He has done nothing wrong. Journalism is not a crime. Speaking the truth is not a crime. We must all stand with him. We must keep saying his name. We must keep asking for his freedom. Because if we stay quiet, more people will be jailed. And one day, there will be no one left to speak the truth.

Free Blessed Mhlanga. Free the press. Free Zimbabwe.