MDC-T chairperson arrested for calling Mugabe a dog

BULAWAYO - MDC-T Matabeleland South youth provincial chairperson Morgan Ncube has been arrested on allegations of calling President Robert Mugabe a dog.

Ncube, who is also a councillor in the Beitbridge Town Council, was arrested on Wednesday on allegations that he insulted Mugabe during a party rally at Gambo in Bulilima on Sunday.

"Ncube has been detained at Plumtree Police Station since Wednesday on charges of undermining the authority of Mugabe at our rally on Sunday.

"These are just trumped up charges. Police are just victimising our members because as far as we know, Ncube never insulted Mugabe during that rally," former Bulilima East legislator Norman Mpofu, who is the MDC Matabeleland South provincial secretary for welfare has alleged.

"He was supposed to have appeared in court today (yesterday) but police were claiming that they had not finished paper work and have also been barring us from giving him food," said Mpofu.

Ncube is being represented by Liberty Mcijo of Lazarus and Sarif Legal Practitioners.

There has been an increase in the number of people arrested for insulting Mugabe in recent years, raising the concern of human rights lawyers.

A Zimbabwean vendor based in South Africa, Benias Gwenhamo Madhakasi, is also currently languishing in remand prison on allegations of possessing nude pictures of Mugabe.

Three MDC youths, Calvin Ncube, Mpumelelo Donga and Gift Mlala, were also arrested and dragged to court for undermining the authority of Mugabe last year after they were found in possession of paper cuttings with caricatures that prosecutors alleged mocked the Zanu-PF leader, his wife Grace and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono.