News / National
Man jailed for possessing Mugabe cartoons
03 Jun 2012 at 16:01hrs | Views
Man jailed for taking pictures at Beitbridge border Post and being found with Mugabe cartoons.
Beitbridge is deemed a restricted area and taking photos there is forbidden.
Arresting officers then found the offending cartoons, believed to have circulated on social media sites last year.
Prosecutors said one of the cartoons had an inscription which read; "Happy 87th birthday (Operation Matibiri) Robert Mugabe turning 87 years on 21 February 2011."
A High Court judge in Bulawayo said Madhakasi was a "dangerous man" and refused to allow him bail, according to lawyer Lizwe Jamela.
Madhakasi also faces an additional charge of contravening Section 36 of the Immigration Act for unlawful possession of or making use of a permit or travel document issued to another person.
His arrest is the latest in a string of prosecutions against several people and organisations charged with allegedly criticising the 88-year-old Zanu-PF leader.
In December MDC-T legislator, Lynette Kerenyi, was briefly jailed after she was accused of insulting Mugabe at a rally where she criticised his stance on homosexuality.
The following month a bookshop owner was arrested under suspicion of undermining the President after he stocked copies of Tsvangirai's autobiography at his store in the town of Victoria Falls.
Again, last August private security guard Zebediah Mpofu was held by police and warned he faced a year in prison after he allegedly joked about the state of Mugabe's health."
Beitbridge is deemed a restricted area and taking photos there is forbidden.
Arresting officers then found the offending cartoons, believed to have circulated on social media sites last year.
Prosecutors said one of the cartoons had an inscription which read; "Happy 87th birthday (Operation Matibiri) Robert Mugabe turning 87 years on 21 February 2011."
A High Court judge in Bulawayo said Madhakasi was a "dangerous man" and refused to allow him bail, according to lawyer Lizwe Jamela.
His arrest is the latest in a string of prosecutions against several people and organisations charged with allegedly criticising the 88-year-old Zanu-PF leader.
In December MDC-T legislator, Lynette Kerenyi, was briefly jailed after she was accused of insulting Mugabe at a rally where she criticised his stance on homosexuality.
The following month a bookshop owner was arrested under suspicion of undermining the President after he stocked copies of Tsvangirai's autobiography at his store in the town of Victoria Falls.
Again, last August private security guard Zebediah Mpofu was held by police and warned he faced a year in prison after he allegedly joked about the state of Mugabe's health."
Source - news
