News / Regional
'Mugabe is an a******,' man appears in court
05 Dec 2013 at 03:12hrs | Views
A Lalapansi man appeared in court on Tuesday facing charges of insulting President Robert Mugabe.
Kurai Chivanga (34) was brought before Gweru magistrate Phathekile Msipa for allegedly insulting Mugabe while drinking at a bottle store on September 20.
Chivanga was charged under Section 33 (2) (b) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, which was declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court (Concourt) in October.
The Concourt ruled that the prosecution of citizens for insulting or undermining the authority of the president and "communicating falsehoods" was unconstitutional as it ran counter to the freedom of expression enshrined in the new Constitution.
Chivanga's case was deferred to December 11 and will only proceed if the Prosecutor General grants prosecuting authority.
Allegations are that on September 20 at around 8pm, Chivanga was at Mreriwa bottle store in the company of other patrons discussing social and political issues.
It was alleged that during the discussions, Chivanga complained about the shortages of maize, chicken and alcohol in Zimbabwe with the commodities being imported because of poor governance.
He is alleged to have said: "The president is an a****** as he had caused the suffering of people."
Hudson Mutenje, Alois Mukaro and Norbert Chitanda, who allegedly heard Chivanga's utterances, reported the matter to the police, leading to his arrest.
Kurai Chivanga (34) was brought before Gweru magistrate Phathekile Msipa for allegedly insulting Mugabe while drinking at a bottle store on September 20.
Chivanga was charged under Section 33 (2) (b) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, which was declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court (Concourt) in October.
The Concourt ruled that the prosecution of citizens for insulting or undermining the authority of the president and "communicating falsehoods" was unconstitutional as it ran counter to the freedom of expression enshrined in the new Constitution.
Allegations are that on September 20 at around 8pm, Chivanga was at Mreriwa bottle store in the company of other patrons discussing social and political issues.
It was alleged that during the discussions, Chivanga complained about the shortages of maize, chicken and alcohol in Zimbabwe with the commodities being imported because of poor governance.
He is alleged to have said: "The president is an a****** as he had caused the suffering of people."
Hudson Mutenje, Alois Mukaro and Norbert Chitanda, who allegedly heard Chivanga's utterances, reported the matter to the police, leading to his arrest.
Source - southerneye
