Man guilty of insulting Mugabe with 'f' word

A 29-year-old Bulawayo man has been found guilty on charges of insulting President Robert Mugabe using a string of four-lettered "f" words and had his case referred to Supreme Court for judgement.

TendaI donga had pleaded not guilty when he appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Vivian Ndlovu on Friday. He was charged with contravening section 33 (2(a)(11) of Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter9:23 which relates to undermining the authority or insulting the president.

Prosecutor Jeremiah Mutsindikwa told the courts that on 21 May this year, the complainant, police constable Chikwanda, stationed at Airport police station in Bulawayo, was drinking in the company of his wife Samantha Todd in Northend suburb. Donga was also there drinking when he noticed the police officer's wife eating a chicken pie.

The court heard that Donga asked for a piece of the pie from the constable's wife but she refused. It was the state's case that Donga allegedly grabbed the pie from the woman. The court further heard that Donga allegedly said to the woman, "I could buy you more pies. I have a lot of money. You can report to anyone, nobody can do anything to me, even the President!"

The husband intervened and tried to stop him from harassing his wife but the accused said to him: "You are nothing but just a constable. You are paid peanuts and I can pay you your salary for the whole year. Who is Mugabe," before letting out a string of four-lettered expletives.

The court heard that Donga further said: "You can phone whoever you want. They cannot do anything to me."

The police officer went to report the matter leading to Donga's arrest. Through his lawyer, Lizwe Jamela of the Human Rights Organisation, the accused said although he mentioned president, he was not referring to president Robert Mugabe.

In passing the sentence the magistrate said although Donga did not mention President Robert Mugabe, no one can doubt the individual that he was referring to the president of this country. The court dismissed the accused's explanation and found him guilty.

However, the matter was referred to the Supreme Court for determination. Donga is out of custody pending summons for the Supreme Court appearance.

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