The editor of a privately owned Zimbabwe online news agency was briefly detained by the police on Monday on allegations of insulting President Emmerson Mnangagwa following a social media post critical of government policy.
According to the Media Institute for Southern Africa (MISA), ZimLive editor Mduduzi Mathuthu was detained for about an hour by police in Bulawayo and charged with contravening a section of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act which deals with undermining the authority of the President or insulting the President.
Quoting Mathuthu’s lawyer Nqobani Sithole, the Zimbabwe chapter of MISA said editor – a known critic of the government – presented himself at Bulawayo Central Police Station after being summoned by the police.
“Sithole said the charge stems from a Tweet posted by Mathuthu on his Twitter account relating to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s address when he suspended lending by banks to both private companies and government departments,” MISA-Zimbabwe said on Tuesday.
The highly unpopular suspension of bank lending triggered an avalanche of price increases as credit-dependent suppliers of goods and services abruptly stopped selling on credit to their own customers. The lending ban was interestingly lifted after just over a week as the government realised the folly of its decision.
MISA said Mathuthu was released an hour after presenting himself at the police station and was told that he would be advised of the date for a court hearing.
Describing the charges as spurious, the Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ) on Tuesday called on the Zimbabwean authorities to stop harassing ZimLive editor.
“Presidents are public figures and should have a greater tolerance for criticism and debate without police having to waste resources to defend their reputations,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa programme coordinator.
If found guilty, Mathuthu faces one year in jail or a fine of up to 4,800 Zimbabwean dollars (about US$13.26) or both, according to the law.
JN/APA