Opposition leader Job Sikhala and his co-accused, Alexander Thema, were granted bail of R10,000 each by the Pretoria Magistrates Court today, a week after their arrest on charges of possession of explosives.

The duo was taken into custody on 6 November along Kgosi Mampuru Street in Pretoria following a police tip-off regarding a suspicious vehicle.

According to Lumka Mahanjana, the Gauteng regional spokesperson for South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), a search of the vehicle yielded 26 blasting cartridges and 15 capped fuse connectors.

Both Sikhala and Thema maintain their innocence.
The opposition leader, who has been frequenting South Africa for medical treatment after his health deteriorated during a long pre-trial detention in Zimbabwe, insisted the arrest was a politically motivated set-up.

Sikhala, a prominent and vocal critic of the Zimbabwean government, was released without charge earlier this year after spending over 500 days in pre-trial detention in his home country.

The case has been postponed, and the two men are scheduled to reappear in court on February 3, 2026, for trial.