South African police’s own report clears Job Sikhala and his uncle in explosives case
A SOUTH African Police Service (SAPS) fingerprint analysis has dealt a major blow to the State’s explosives case against Zimbabwean opposition leader Job Sikhala and his uncle Alexander Thema.
The duo is facing criminal charges related to possession of explosive devices.
In a major twist, the SAPS Local Criminal Record Centre in Pretoria has concluded that neither Sikhala (54) nor Thema (78) left any prints on evidence recovered from the vehicle they were arrested in.
A report dated July 16, 2026, signed by the centre commander and a senior fingerprint expert, SAPS compared palm and fingerprint samples from both men against lifts taken at the scene, and did not find any match.
“The fingerprints of the following persons regarding the above-mentioned case have been compared with the prints found on the scene of the crime; 1. Alexander Thema 2. Job Sikhala. The result of the comparison is NEGATIVE,” reads part of the report.
The fingerprint file remains pending.
Sikhala and Thema were picked up on November 6, 2025 along Kgosi Mampuru Street, Pretoria, after police acted on a tip-off about a suspicious vehicle.
Officers say they recovered 26 blasting cartridges and 15 fuse connectors from the car belonging to Thema.
Both men were released on R10,000 bail each. The State did not oppose bail. Sikhala and his uncle deny any link to the explosives.
Sikhala, head of the National Democratic Working Group, has from day one claimed a set-up, alleging Zimbabwean State security, working with rogue SAPS elements, orchestrated the arrest to keep him locked up in South Africa.
His defence team told court their client was lured to a Pretoria meeting. During the meeting, they allege, someone took the car keys and that is when the explosives were allegedly planted in the vehicle.
Sikhala, who has remained in South Africa since the arrest more than a year ago, is being represented by lawyer Bongani Dee of Mabuza Attorneys. _*NewZimbabwe*_
