Tsitsi Dangarembga convicted of inciting violence

Tsitsi Dangarembga was arrested and charged in 2020

Zim Now Writer

Harare magistrate Barbara Mateko has convicted author and activist Tsitsi Dangarembgaon Thursday on charges of inciting violence.

Her husband Olaf Koschke confirmed the ruling to the German press agency DPA.

Dangarembga was handed a six-month suspended prison sentence as well as a $120 (€123) fine.

The author, activist and playwright was arrested and charged, alongside another friend and journalist Julie Barnes, with incitement of violence, breaching the peace and bigotry.

The two argued in court that they had been exercising their freedom of expression.

But the magistrate,said the pair were intent on provoking violence.

"Clearly they wanted to pass a message. It was not peaceful at all," Mateko said in her judgment. "They were expressing opinions and it was meant to provoke."

Dangarembga had appeared in court several times for the trial.

Dangarembga is best known for her novel "Nervous Conditions" published in 1988.