Thumbnail: Grief and resilience define Zimbabwe CCC activist Prudence Mucherera’s struggle. Acquitted yet scarred, she vows to resist Zanu PF’s bid to extend Mnangagwa’s rule, uplifted by Chamisa’s return: “Silence costs democracy—we rise again.”

Profile: Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) activist Prudence Mucherera says her acquittal after a two-year trial has not erased the scars of persecution that she and her family have endured, describing the ordeal as “a punishment for believing in democracy”.

Mucherera, 42, was among 40 CCC supporters arrested on 21 August 2023 while campaigning in Glenview for parliamentary candidate Grandmore Hakata. Police accused them of holding an unsanctioned rally after diverting from a notified venue at Churu Farm to Machipisa shopping centre in Highfield, Harare. Prosecutors argued that the road show was illegal, and the group was charged with violating electoral regulations.

The activists spent more than a month in remand prison, missing Election Day. Their lawyer, Kudzai Kadzere, applied for removal from remand, citing delays and financial strain from repeated court appearances. However, magistrate Aplonia Marutya dismissed the application, ruling that state arguments for postponement were valid.

For Mucherera, the drawn-out process was devastating: “Every fortnight was another summons to court, another reminder that my voice was being punished,” she said. Her two children suffered trauma during her detention, facing stigma at school and the fear of losing their mother: “They cried every night, asking if I would ever come back. It broke me, but it also gave me strength.”

The trial dragged on for two years, with prosecutors repeatedly postponing proceedings. Mucherera says that the uncertainty drained her emotionally and financially: “It was not just about me. My children lived in fear, my family carried the burden, and our community was silenced.”

Hakata, who won his seat in absentia, died before completing his term, which was due to run until 2028. His death deepened the sense of loss among activists, many of whom felt their sacrifices compounded by grief.

Despite the ordeal, Mucherera insists that she will continue organising for the opposition. She says she is motivated by her belief in democracy and constitutionalism, and by what she calls the need to resist “Zanu PF machinations”. The ruling party has signalled plans to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term from 2028 to 2030, a move that critics argue undermines constitutional limits.

Mucherera says she was uplifted by the return of former CCC president Nelson Chamisa to active politics, describing it as a moment of hope: “It reminded us that we are not alone, that the struggle continues.”

Her acquittal on 14 August 2025 closed a painful chapter, but the emotional toll remains. For Mucherera, the cost of activism is high, yet she insists that the price of silence is far higher. “We suffer, our children suffer, but we rise again,” she says. “Because if we stop, then democracy itself stops.”