ZIMBABWE – A Hwange man was dragged to court for allegedly describing Zanu-PF regalia emblazoned with a picture of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, donned by a war veteran as “rubbish stuff”.
Mehlo Mpala (42), a train engineer, was represented by Jabulani Mhlanga at Dete Magistrates Court where Nyambe Mathe, a war veteran and Zanu-PF party Chairperson for Ward 16 accused him of contravening Section 33(2)(a) of the Criminal Code.
Mhlanga challenged the prosecution of Mpala without obtaining authority to prosecute from the Prosecutor-General and he was removed from remand and the State was ordered to summon him should it still want to proceed with prosecuting him.
The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) bemoaned the development through a Twitter thread on Thursday.
“After the departure of Robert Mugabe, Zimbabweans continue to be arrested and prosecuted for allegedly undermining or insulting the authority of President Mnangagwa.
“Mpala, who is employed as a train engineer, is accused of acting unlawfully after he criticized Nyambe Mathe, a war veteran and the Zanu-PF party Chairperson for Ward 16 while at Cross Dete Business Centre for wearing Zanu-PF party regalia comprising of a T-shirt and a cap emblazoned with a picture of President Mnangagwa, whom the train engineer accused of causing a lot of suffering for Zimbabweans.
“Prosecutors allege that Mpala told Mathe that he was wearing a good pair of shoes and trousers except for the cap and T-shirt which he said was “rubbish” stuff and that President Mnangagwa’s picture on his party regalia was not good,” ZLHR said.
The lawyers’ group added: “Jabulani Mhlanga of ZLHR, who represented Mpala challenged the prosecution of the train engineer without obtaining authority to prosecute from the Prosecutor-General and he was removed from remand and the State was ordered to summon him should it still want to proceed with prosecuting him.”
