A security guard based in Beitbridge has been arrested and charged with insulting President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
He allegedly criticised the President for mismanaging the economy and introducing the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) currency.
According to the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), Ezekiel Chiradza, 35, was taken into custody on September 2.
Chiradza reportedly recorded a video in which he condemned Mnangagwa and voiced support for former CCC leader Nelson Chamisa, sharing it in a WhatsApp group. The ZLHR said:
There is no respite in targeting citizens for perceived dissent and in Beitbridge, a 35-year-old security guard has been arrested and charged for allegedly insulting President Mnangagwa, whom he accused of economic mismanagement and also for disapproving use of ZiG currency.
Ezekiel Chiradza, who works as a security guard at Beitbridge Town Council, was arrested by ZRP officers on 2 September and was charged with undermining the authority of or insulting the President as defined in section 33(2)(a)(ii) of Criminal Law (Codification and Reform Act.
Chiradza reportedly recorded a video and published it on a WhatsApp group called Zim Politics, while singing and uttering some words condemning President Mnangagwa and praising Nelson Chamisa, his rival in last year’s general elections.
Chiradza is represented by Patrick Tererai of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights.
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