0:08 – UpFront Spotlight on Political Prisoner: Dr Mutulu Shakur
For our political prisoner spotlight this week, we focus on Dr. Mutulu Shakur, organizer, activist, acupuncturist and stepfather of the late HipHop icon Tupac Shakur. Mutulu was sentenced to 60 years in prison for his contested involvement in a 1981 robbery of a Brinks armored truck in which a guard and two police officers were killed. In April of 2016 He was up for a mandatory parole determination after serving 30 years of his original sentence. However, the United States Parole Commission denied his release for unspecified grounds. We speak with Watani Tyhemba, Criminal Investigator and member of Mutulu Shakur’s Legal Team about Mutulu’s case and where things stand now.
0:34 – Protests are scheduled to take place in Zimbabwe today, led by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (or MDC). They’re protesting corruption, unemployment and power and fuel shortages and a deteriorating economy. The police have threatened to block the protests. We speak with Chipo Dendere (@drDendere), Zimbabwean Associate Professor of Political Science about the latest in Zimbabwe about the ongoing political and economic crises for Zimbabweans.