HARARE - Police yesterday revealed identities of nine persons, including the editor of a UK-based newspaper Wilf Mbanga, who they suspect of aiding Baba Jukwa’s cyber war targeting President Robert Mugabe, government ministers, senior government officials and security chiefs.
The Sunday Mail editor Edmund Kudzayi is currently languishing in remand prison facing charges of banditry, attempting to overthrow a constitutionally-elected government, plotting insurgency, terrorism and sabotage.
The State claims he is the man behind the Baba Jukwa page that rattled the ruling party ahead of last year’s harmonised elections.
In a statement, police said they were keen to investigate Mbanga and his wife Trish and Johannesburg-based reporter Mxolisi Ncube, who was initially named by the State media as Baba Jukwa.
Walter Shoko, a systems and software engineer, Samson Chifamba, a computer programmer, and another Zimbabwean, George Chirakasha, who are all based in the United Kingdom, are also wanted by the law enforcement agents.
According to the police, Animie Drew, Piniel Nhokodi, Romeo Musemburi and Sarudzai Florence were all part of the Baba Jukwa syndicate. Police claim they are the “administrators of the babajukwa2013@gmail.com and Baba Jukwa Facebook page.”
In his bail application at the High Court, Kudzayi, whose brother Philip, was also been nabbed on charges of aiding his sibling, claims he cannot be the mysterious Facebook mole, since the page was active on Monday when he was already behind bars.
But police say the fact that there are nine other persons involved explains “why Baba Jukwa Facebook is still very active.”
“The wanted persons are based in various global locations and network to post subversive articles on this page,” the police statement said.
Kudzayi denies the charges and in his founding affidavit accuses the state of having rushed to arrest him before doing conclusive investigations. He says the police must pool resources to travel to countries such as Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom to trace Baba Jukwa.
“I have just been arrested by trigger happy people bent on hoodwinking their superiors as if they have done a brilliant job of nabbing the real Baba Jukwa,” Kudzayi said.
But police yesterday stuck to their guns, maintaining that they were going to investigate all those behind the sensational Facebook character.
“Police have cast the net wide and will ensure that the law takes its course on anyone engaged in subversive activities,” reads part of the police statement.