By Gift Phiri
HARARE – Here are some facts about Edmund Kudzayi, editor of the Sunday Mail, whom we will learn today whether he will be freed on bail in connection with accusations of insurgency, terrorism, banditry, sabotage, attempting to subvert a constitutionally elected government and failing to secure firearms.
PERSONAL LIFE:
— Kudzayi was born in Masvingo under Chief Charumbira, on December 8, 1986, to rural parents who were involved into farming. Kudzayi’s father is Steyn Munhuwendiro Kudzayi.
— He did his primary education from 1993 to 1999 at Eastridge Primary School in Hillside, Harare.
— He did his secondary education at Marist Brothers Nyanga between 2000 and 2003.
— In 2004, he enrolled for his Advanced Levels at Churchill Boys High in Harare.
— After his ‘A’Levels, he studied and completed a Chartered Institute of Management Accounting (CIMA) Diploma in Harare.
— In his early 20s, he went to Leeds Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom to study for a Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB) between 2008 to 2010.
— In 2011, he enrolled for a Software Engineering Degree at Huddersfield University in the UK.
— Kudzayi gained a reputation as a sophisticated computer programmer.
— He ran a blog African Aristocrat, which unreservedly registered its distaste for President Robert Mugabe and his ruling Zanu PF. The blog ran a prominent article about the alleged rape of Mugabe’s daughter Bona in Malaysia.
— The African Aristocrat was pulled down prior to his return to Zimbabwe
— Kudzayi made an about-turn and created a Facebook character, Amai Jukwa, in support of Zanu PF but attacking individuals in the party
— In April 2014, Kudzayi was appointed as Sunday Mail editor, after Brezhnev Malaba was pushed out, although he had never practised as a reporter
— In a May 2014 ZiFM radio interview conducted by Ruvheneko Parirenyatwa and also attended by the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe executive director Loughty Dube, Kudzayi flatly denied being Amai Jukwa.
— In June 2014 he was arrested and is pleading not guilty to a raft of sedition charges but has made a volte face and now admits he is Amai Jukwa
— Kudzayi claims that he actually worked with government ministers Jonathan Moyo, Savior Kasukuwere and the ministry of Defence to expose the real Baba Jukwa.
— The State insists he is Baba Jukwa and could have been recruited by hostile forces to infiltrate Zanu PF structures as a gateway to penetrating State structures.
— The State alleges Kudzayi took part in an offensive against Zanu PF, with most of the posts anchored on salacious gossip than whistle blowing, and include what it claims are exposes by well-connected insiders of Mugabe’s health secrets, murder, assassination, corruption plots, intimidation and vote-rigging in the 2013 elections
— Kudzayi is single, has no permanent home of his own and is often seen carrying a rucksack, and stays with his parents in Harare.
— He is described by those he has worked with at the State media as highly intelligent, determined, intense and at times paranoid.
— He is known for being highly secretive. It has been reported that he carries several computer gizmos
—The incarcerated Sunday Mail editor has been held since Thursday last week and faces life in prison if he is convicted on these charges. He has denied any wrongdoing.
— He had applied for bail at a lower Zimbabwean court but was advised to approach the High Court because he faces a schedule three offence and he remains in a Harare jail. Daily News
