Man jailed for encouraging terrorism online

A man has been jailed for terrorism offences after posting political speeches on social media encouraging violence in southern Africa.

William Chinyanga was arrested after an investigation by the Met's Counter Terrorism Command.

The 52-year-old live-streamed speeches on Facebook in December 2019 in protest of the current government in Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (Zanu–PF), in which he encouraged bombings and attacks on soldiers and police.

The videos were reported to the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command and reviewed by the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU).

Chinyanga was arrested on 25 February 2020 at his home in north London, on suspicion of encouraging terrorism and admitted to posting the videos in an interview.

He was sentenced to three years' imprisonment on Friday in an appearance at Kingston Crown Court. He was found guilty of two counts of encouraging terrorist acts on Tuesday, 15 November, after a trial at Kingston Crown Court.

He was acquitted of two further charges of encouraging terrorist acts.

Commander Richard Smith, who leads the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “It was a report from a member of the public that brought Chinyanga’s speeches to the attention of police. That person did the right thing, and this case shows that we will follow up on all reports and take action when needed. We would strongly urge anyone who sees anything online which promotes terrorism to report it to police.

“Chinyanga sought to reach as wide an audience as possible when he took to social media to encourage violent action against the current government in his native Zimbabwe. Dangerous rhetoric of this nature can and does have harmful real-world consequences.”

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