Lawyer denies ‘Baba Jukwa’ arrest in SA

Zimbabwean journalist Mxolisi Ncube was not arrested in South Africa in connection with the ongoing hunt for mystery Facebook blogger Baba Jukwa according to his Harare based lawyer Obert Gutu.

A report in the NewsDay newspaper on Tuesday had suggested that police in South Africa had arrested Ncube and that a warned and cautioned statement was recorded from him at the Zimbabwean Embassy in that country.

“The said newspaper also claims that I did confirm that a warned-and- cautioned statement had been recorded from my client. Nothing could be further from the truth. Out of an abundance of caution, let me, here and now, categorically DENY that Mxolisi Ncube has been arrested by the Police nor has a warned- and- cautioned statement been recorded from him.” Gutu said.

“At no time did I ever confirm to any journalist from the NewsDay, nor to anyone else for that matter, that a warned- and- cautioned statement had been recorded from Mxolisi Ncube.

“For the record, Mxolisi Ncube has NOT been arrested. He is merely assisting the relevant law enforcement authorities with their investigations. It is invariably very important for journalists to always verify the authenticity of their stories before committing pen to paper,” Gutu added.