Harare –
Zimbabwe on Monday put on trial an activist pastor accused of attempting to
subvert the government, following 2016 protests against President Robert
Mugabe’s
handling of the economy.
The charge carries up to 20
years imprisonment on conviction. Evan Mawarire, through his #ThisFlag
movement, led a stay-at-home demonstration in 2016, the biggest protest in a
decade, via a social media campaign that urged citizens to speak out against
economic problems and government failure to pay workers.
Mawarire was arrested again
for subversion on Sunday as he stepped down from his pulpit after police
accused him of circulating social media posts that accused the government of
wrecking the economy. Appearing in maroon slacks at the High Court, the
clergyman pleaded not guilty to two charges of subverting the government and
two charges of inciting public violence. The latter carries a penalty of up to
10 years in jail. State prosecutor, Chris Mtungadura, said social media posts
by Mawarire in 2016 were meant to incite the population to overthrow the
government.
The state has lined up eight witnesses. “He was exercising his
constitutional rights of challenging the policies of government. This … was
done in a lawful manner,” defence lawyer Harrison Nkomo told the court. In
2009, the government adopted the U.S. dollar as its official currency,
alongside the British sterling and South African rand, which helped to
stabilise prices. But the U.S. dollar has disappeared from banks and on Monday,
buying 100 dollars on the streets through a bank transfer cost 150 dollars, up
from 133 dollars a week ago, in a sign that dollar bank balances are fast
losing value. Mugabe, 93, has held power since Zimbabwe won independence from
Britain in 1980 and critics accuse him of using the security forces to crack
down on dissent. (Reuters/NAN)
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