Mugabe 'unclothed' picture challenged in court

Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku yesterday postponed pronouncement of judgment on preliminary points raised by a Bulawayo woman seeking permanent stay of prosecution over charges of insulting and undermining President Robert Mugabe by sending her friend a caricature of the 'unclothed' President using WhatsApp.

Shantel Rusike (22) is alleged to have sent the offensive image to her unidentified friend on December 24 2013 using her WhatsApp number.

Through her lawyer Advocate Lewis Uriri, Rusike argued that her conduct did not constitute a criminal offence since a WhatsApp platform could not be defined as a public platform.

She further argued that the mere fact that somebody would attach the President's head on any other photograph would not therefore mean that the picture reflected Mugabe's true image.

Justice Chidyausiku asked the Prosecutor-General's representative Innocent Muchini to explain the difference between an individual and a public platform.

Justice Chidyausiku said Rusike was being charged for sending the pictures to the public whereas she had just sent the image to a friend.